The Sund^ School 
atWork 




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Book 3l 



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COPYRIGHT DEPOSITS 



The Sunday School 
at Work 



By 

PHILIP E. HOWARD 

' AMOS R. WELLS 

Rev. A. H. McKINNEY. Ph.D. 
W. C. PEARCE 

Rev. E. MORRIS FERGUSSON 

Rev. FRANKLIN McELFRESH, Ph.D. 
Rev. J. S. STOWELL 

RALPH E. DIFFENDORFER 

Rev. GEORGE GORDON MAHY 

Edited by 

JOHN T. PARIS, D. D. 




PHILADELFHU 

THE WESTMINSTER PRESS 
1914 






Copyright. 1913. 
By F. M. BRASELMANN 



APR 25 1914 
©aA371575 



CONTENTS 



PAGE 

Foreword 7 

I 

The Superintendent and Hib Associates 9 

I. The Superintendent Himself 11 

II. The Superintendent and the Pastor 16 

III. The Associate Superintendent 19 

IV. Sizing Up the School 22 

V. Planning and Carrying Out a Program 28 

VI. The Superintendent's Council 37 

II 

The Secretary and His Assistants 39 

I. Introductory 41 

II. His Make-Up 43 

III. His Records 49 

IV. His Reports 57 

V. His Relationships 62 

VI. His Notebook 66 

VII. His Material and Literature 69 

III 

The Treasurer and the Librarian 73 

I. The Treasurer 75 

II. The Librarian 84 

IV 

The Sunday School Graded 95 

L Why? 97 

IL What? 101 

IIL How? 105 

IV. A Graded School 109 

V. Graded Teachers 115 

VI. Specialized Work 120 

3 



CONTENTS 
V 

PAGE 

The Graded Lessons 125 

I. Introductory 127 

II. Misconceptions 129 

III. Difficulties and Objections 132 

IV. Introducing the Elementary Lessons 136 

V. Introducing the Secondary Lessons 145 

VI. Suggestions for Management 149 



VI 

The Adult Class 155 

I. How to Organize 157 

11. An Adult Class Demonstration 163 

III. The Advantages of Federation 180 

IV. Organizing an Adult Bible Class Federation 183 

V. One Town Federation at Work 186 



VII 

The Teacher-Training Class 189 

I. A Personal Word 191 

11. The Plan 194 

III. The Bible 195 

IV. The Pupil 199 

V. The Teacher 205 

VI. The School 208 

VII. How to Awaken Interest 212 

VIII. Training the Teachers of To-Morrow 216 

IX. Organization and Enrollment 220 

X. The Class of Teachers 224 

XI. The City Training School 230 



VIII 

The Home Department 237 

I. What the Home Department Is 239 

II. How to Begin 243 

III. The Work of Each Quarter 249 

IV. Building Up the Membership 256 

4 



CONTENTS 
IX 

PAGE 

How TO Increase Attendance 265 

I. The Uncultivated Field 267 

II. Things Fundamental 270 

III. The Story of One School 273 

IV. Some Successful Schools 278 

V. General Methods Which Have Been Used 283 

VI. Reaching the Child 290 

VII. The "Teen" Age 294 

X 

Missionary Education in the Sunday School 301 

I. The Point of View 303 

II. The Missionary Committee in the Sunday School. . 305 

III. General Methods. 308 

IV. The Exercise of Worship 311 

V. A Missionary Atmosphere 315 

VI. Additional Program Possibilities 318 

VII. Home Reading and Study 321 

VIII. An Adequate Giving Policy 323 

IX. Missionary Suggestions by Grades 326 

X. Helps for the Missionary Committee 334 

XI 

Bringing the Pupil to a Decision for Christ 335 

I. The Need 337 

II. Placing the Responsibility 344 

III. The Decision Day Service 350 



FOREWORD 



Sunday-school workers are familiar with the series of 
brief Sunday School Manuals issued during recent years 
by The Westminster Press. These have been found so 
helpful that urgent request has been made both for 
additions to the Hst and for a book of tested Sunday- 
school methods, in which the material presented in the 
manuals should be given more permanent form. 

In response to this demand 'The Sunday School at 
Work" has been prepared by Sunday-school workers of 
national and even international reputation. 

Portions of the book are based on the manuals which 
have proved most useful. Several of these have been 
almost completely rewritten in the light of later devel- 
opments in Sunday-school work. However, the chapters 
of two of the manuals have been incorporated practically 
without change, as the message carried by these is the 
message needed to-day. The section by Dr. McKinney 
on The Secretary and His Assistants, the section by 
Mr. Fergusson on The Graded Lessons, and the sections 
by Professor Wells, Mr. Stowell, Dr. Mahy and Mr. Diffen- 
dorfer treat of matters not included in any of the manuals. 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WOEK 



I 
THE SUPERINTENDENT AND HIS ASSOCIATES 

BT 

PHILIP E. HOWARD 



THE SUPERINTENDENT AND HIS 
ASSOCIATES 



I 

THE SUPERINTENDENT HIMSELF 

The Superintendent a Manager. — When a man is 
chosen superintendent of a Sunday school he may be sure 
of two things: The choice offers him a great privilege 
and it brings into his life high responsibilities. The work 
will test his character at points where true character will 
count with exceptional force in vital service. The super- 
intendent cannot faithfully carry on the work of school 
management unless he can manage himself and others. 
He must be wdlHng to take hard knocks, and to take them 
sweetly. He must be willing, if necessary, to see what he 
thinks the best part of his pet plans set aside, and to take 
his medicine without a grimace. 

The superintendent must study the fine art of getting 
others to work. He must be content to be inconspicu- 
ous, to keep in the background, to get others to make sug- 
gestions, and to teach others that he relies absolutely 
and finally upon them to carry out work which has been 
assigned to them. A few experiences of the forgetfulness 
or faithlessness of others ought not to discourage him for 
an instant. He is a manager. His chief business is to 
set others at work; so he must develop every particle of 
talent he can find among his workers, and distribute 

11 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

responsibility just as much as possible, for the sake of 
setting everybody at work, including teachers and pupils. 
It is hard to bear the criticism that is almost sure to 
come to a good organizer, for some will say that he is 
"always trying to get other people to do the work/* That 
is precisely what he ought to be doing, but it is several 
times as hard as doing the whole thing himself. 

Keeping Close to the Workers. — ^The superintendent 
must be close to the lives of his coworkers. If he has no 
particular interest in persons, he ought to get interested. 
He must acquaint himself with the personal problems of 
his teachers, their home difficulties, the obstacles in their 
way when they long to do more work for the school. He 
cannot do this by a mere "Glad to see you" on Sundays, 
or even by a warm handshake before or after the service. 
He must become the adviser of his teachers, meeting them 
in their homes, sometimes in their places of employment, 
sometimes in his own home, or, if that is not practicable, 
then in an occasional social meeting in the school. The 
superintendent of the third largest Sunday school in the 
world has a list of his teachers' birthdays, and no matter 
where he may be he writes each teacher a birthday letter, 
a personal, hearty, hopeful, earnest, cheery letter. 

Always Better Ahead. — ^The superintendent should cul- 
tivate the vision of larger and better things for his Sunday 
school. Some men habitually look down a dwindling 
path ending in the dark; other men habitually look up a 
climbing, winding, ever-rising road toward the heights 
where there is light and growth. If the superintendent 
does not expect climbing and an up grade for his school, 

12 



THE SUPERINTENDENT 

it is almost certain to be on the down grade. It is one 
thing to say "y^s" to this statement, but quite another 
to keep one's character tuned up in this respect, and rig- 
idly shut out from his vision the down grade. Mr. John 
Wanamaker, who is the owner of Munkacsy's painting, 
'^Christ Before Pilate," says that one of the saddest 
sights he can recall was in his own home where Munkacsy 
was a visitor and was walking up and down before the 
great picture which he had painted. He stopped and 
gazed longingly at the canvas, and then said to Mr. 
Wanamaker, * 'There is my greatest work; I shall never do 
another as fine as that." 'It seemed to me a great pity, 
said Mr. Wanamaker, "that the artist should have looked 
at his achievements in that way; that he should have 
believed that he had done his best in the past, and that 
there was nothing better ahead for him." The superin- 
tendent who believes, either for his school or for himself, 
that the best work is in the past, is working on a down 
grade. 

Finding Time for Prayer. — It is particularly import- 
ant that the superintendent should find time for prayer 
about his work. No man can do that work as it ought 
to be done without special guidance from God, with- 
out drawing upon the divine reservoirs of patience, 
hopefulness, courage and steadiness for mind and nerve. 
A single display of temper in conducting the exercises 
may ruin a year's work. A tactless, untimely remark 
or an unkind criticism may permanently destroy a su- 
perintendent's influence with teacher or pupil. A weak- 
ening in principle will also lower the whole character of 
the school, — as, for instance, yielding to the pressure of 

13 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

closing a city Sunday school in the summer, or a country 
school in the winter, or to the raising of money by any 
other than the straight giving plan. Through prayer 
the superintendent can find power and poise and purpose 
as in no other way. 

Doing Thorough Bible Study. — One of the tempta- 
tions that meets the superintendent is the thought that 
he does not need to do as thorough Bible study as his 
teachers must. He may go along for weeks and even 
months with superficial study of the lesson without having 
the results of his neglect disclosed to his associates, and 
sometimes not even to himself. The neglect is damaging, 
however. If he is careless in his Bible study he is not doing 
his duty by teachers or pupils; his conduct of the pro- 
gram will be superficial, and his words at the close of 
the lesson hour will ring hollow. 

His Bearing During the Session. — During the school 
hour the superintendent should represent in his own 
person and manner and words what he would like to have 
the school become. He should be orderly, steady, pa- 
tient; acting upon the principle that a smile is usually 
more powerful than a frown, and setting forth in every- 
thing that he does during the session — by the orderly, 
well-behaved, unhurried, but prompt and brisk conduct 
of the program — the inner life of hopefulness and high 
expectation for every member of the school. 

Holding to High Ideals. — ^The superintendent must 
not be dismayed by his own high ideals. He need not 
be afraid of setting his mark too high. He need not think 

14 



THE SUPERINTENDENT 

he must lower the ideal because he has come short of it. 
If any of his coworkers point to difficulties or failures in 
the past as good reasons why a certain ideal should not 
be worked out, that of itself is not the slightest reason 
for yielding the ideal. 

The superintendent himself must be a man whose walk 
with God is close and confiding, whose prayer-life is abso- 
lutely vital to his everyday work, whose interest in his 
fellow human beings is heartfelt and sincere, whose 
patience and tact are under constant cultivation, whose 
hopefulness and courage are not to be disturbed by diffi- 
culties, and whose best for himself and for his school is 
always ahead. And if he is not even trjdng to be all this 
to-day, he ought, for the sake of the school and of the ser- 
vice that he is called to render, to pray and to strive for 
the perfecting of these qualifications in his own life. He 
may well be hopeful about the result, for he is not alone 
in his work. 



15 



II 

THE SUPERINTENDENT AND THE PASTOR 

The pastor is the official head of the local church. He 
is more than that. He is the friend, the counselor, the 
guide in the spiritual affairs of the members of his congre- 
gation. 

Securing the Pastor's Best. — If the pastor's idea does 
not readily coincide with the superintendent's idea as to 
how the school ought to be conducted, there is danger 
that the superintendent may be somewhat disturbed as to 
what he thinks is the pastor's lack of understanding of 
the real conditions. The pastor may be equally con- 
cerned as to what he counts a lack of sympathy with his 
thought on the part of the superintendent. It is a part 
of the superintendent's duty and privilege to recognize 
the leadership of the pastor in all matters pertaining to 
the church in all its branches, and if the pastor is by tem- 
perament or training indifferent to the possibilities of the 
Sunday school, it will be the superintendent's high privi- 
lege to bring the pastor into such close relation with the 
school that he will become the factor that he ought to be 
in its best life. Meanwhile the superintendent must 
have in mind that it is also his duty to consult with the 
pastor about every important move made in the school, 
to keep the pastor thoroughly posted on school conditions, 
to bring to the pastor's attention anything of special in- 
terest that he discovers in periodicals or in book publica- 
tions bearing on the Sunday school, and to learn in every 

16 



THE SUPERINTENDENT 

way he can from the pastor the fine art of spiritual leader- 
ship, seeking his advice in the selection of teachers, in 
special courses of study, in the choice of speakers for 
special occasions, and in the personal problems that arise 
among the workers or pupils, and thus in every way to 
secure for the school the best that the pastor can give. 

Special Work for the Pastor. — The pastor may be the 
very best one to lead a teachers' meeting for lesson study, 
or the teacher-training class where prospective teachers 
can be trained for their work in the school. Again, it 
may be that he is precisely the right leader for the adult 
Bible class. His presence in the school should be encour- 
aged in every way by the superintendent. He should call 
upon him for some part in the service. He should ask 
him to act as a substitute teacher occasionally, if the 
pastor has no regular class. He may well call upon him 
to lead a monthly school prayer meeting, when at the close 
of the lesson hour the service is turned over to the pastor, 
and the whole school gives its attention to a prayer service 
in which many take part. Great service can be rendered 
to the pastor and to the school if the superintendent will 
make it his business to report to the pastor any signs of 
spiritual interest on the part of any pupil. In one school 
where this is done the pastor makes it a practice to see, 
just before each communion Sunday, every pupil who is 
not a member of the church. In that school the pastor 
is constantly in touch with the progress that the pupils 
are making in the spiritual life. 

Counting the Pastor In. — ^The pastor ought to be 
^'counted in." The great trouble is that so many of us 

17 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

leave him out of our calculations in planning for the 
school's welfare. 

But the superintendent must not expect the pastor to 
give his whole time to the Sunday school. He has other 
duties that claim his time and thought. He can help, 
and he will help, if the superintendent will open ways 
by which the help can be rendered, and will count the 
pastor in. 



18 



Ill 



THE ASSOCIATE SUPERINTENDENT 

A Real Partnership. — It is better for the superintendent 
to regard his coworker in the executive work of the school 
as an associate rather than as an assistant. It is not 
assistance from one not having much responsibility at 
this point that the superintendent needs so much as whole- 
hearted, busy-brained partnership with a fellow executive. 
Organization requires a definite head in leadership, but 
that leader is a better leader because of tested ability to 
draw another, or more than one, into the practice of a 
devoted, joint responsibility for the superintending of the 
school. 

There is hardly any phase of the superintendent's work 
that offers such an opportunity for service through co- 
operation as his relations with his associate superintendent. 
Assuming that there is one such associate, these are some 
of the ways in which the partnership can be made effective: 

On the Platform. — Arrange so that the associate will 
be in charge of the platform work for a certain number of 
Sundays, while you are busy on what might be called the 
floor work, such as assignment of substitute teachers, the 
receiving of new pupils, etc. Let the associate prepare 
the program for the day, and let him conduct it without 
any hovering interference on your part. It is better 
to have some things go not quite as you would prefer 
than to have your associate feel that he is, after all, only a 

19 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

temporary assistant. You will be glad to note a refreshing 
variety in the school sessions under this method, and it 
will bring you meanwhile into closer contact with the de- 
tails of the school life and work as you move about your 
floor duties at proper times. When you, as superintendent, 
in your turn have charge of the platform work, your asso- 
ciate takes the floor work, and is able to study the school 
needs closely and to meet them much better than he could 
otherwise do. 

Dividing Up the Work.— Divide certain definite re- 
sponsibilities between the associate and yourself in the 
care of the whole enterprise, shifting these from one to the 
other from time to time in order that both yourself and 
your associate may be thoroughly familiar with every part 
of the school. Do not specialize too closely by confining 
your duties or his always to one group of activities. The 
school needs to be equipped with well-trained, fully in- 
formed leadership, and at least two persons should be 
thoroughly posted and ready to lead in any part of the 
work. 

A Many-Sided Training. — For instance, suppose for a 
few months or longer, the associate should take the initia- 
tive in securing and placing new teachers, in consultation 
with his chief. Or, again, let him supervise the work of 
looking up absentees, and receive the secretary's reports, 
and in general have an eye to the pupils' and teachers' 
presence and promptness. He may also be the chairman, 
now and then, of a Program Committee for special occa- 
sions. In short, let him be trained to do all that a super- 
intendent should be able to do, even to the presiding at 

20 



THE SUPERINTENDENT 

some of the business or other meetings of the workers. 
And this very leading out of a fellow worker into equal 
and ever-enlarging service can be made one of the joys of a 
superintendent's service for his school, — "in honor prefer- 
ring one another." It would be unwise, of course, to keep 
the school in a state of uncertainty as to the right officer 
to whom various matters should be referred; but the 
obvious position of each, and the duties of each as duly 
assigned and announced from time to time, will clear up 
this possibility of confusion. And the close partnership 
plan will help both superintendent and associate to act 
wisely in the light of what each knows the other would 
counsel. In one school where a very strong business man 
of powerful personality is the chief superintendent there 
are several associates; and if a stranger asks the leader to 
tell him who is the superintendent, he will answer, "Well, 
we have several, and we divide up the work." And that 
is not a bad answer for any superintendent to be able to 
give. 



21 



IV 

SIZING UP THE SCHOOL 

Taking an inventory is one of the first things, and one 
of the frequent things, a superintendent should do. And 
here are some of the items he would do well to take into 
account, both to ascertain what the school is, and what 
it may come to be. 

1. Is every class supplied ivith a teacher f 

Of course a class without a teacher is not a class. A 
study of the record of attendance and a look over the school 
will bring to light the exact conditions, — if the records 
have been well kept. A careful note should be made of 
the class without any teacher at all, and of classes having 
irregular teachers. The teacher is the key to all good 
work in the school. If the key isn't there when wanted, 
there is trouble. If the key is missing altogether, a new 
one must be found. 

For the class without a teacher, the superintendent 
should act promptly. It may be best to combine the class 
with another; but very rarely should a class of girls or 
boys in their teens or under, number more than eight. 
Unless the school has a training class for teachers, from 
which some one is about to be graduated, the new teacher 
may be looked for among adult Bible class members, or 
among some of the young people who have shown a good 
attendance record, and an interest in the school in other 
ways. Should the search fail here, it would be well to 
look over the list of adult church members, considering 

22 



THE SUPERINTENDENT 

with the pastor the names of any who have given any 
signs of personal fitness for the teacher's work, and with 
the help of the pastor and some of the teachers secure 
some one from this number. If the proper teacher can- 
not be secured from the present church membership it 
may be that there is in the neighborhood some one who 
has been in Sunday-school work, and yet who has not been 
drawn into any association w^th the work or the school. 

2. Are the school records in good shape? 

Look at them. Apply tests. Are the pupils' full 
names correctly entered? If not, painful blunders may re- 
sult. When you write a warm-hearted birthday letter 
to John F. Wilkins and address him as "My dear James" 
and mail the letter to James E. Wilkins, the aggrieved 
and scornful John will wonder whether your letter is as 
warm as it reads. If you have any doubt about the list, 
ask the teachers to examine their attendance cards or 
roll books, and to make sure of the literal accuracy of 
each name. 

Are the names all there for every department? Some- 
times teachers depend upon the secretary, and the secre- 
tary upon the teachers, for completion of names and ad- 
dresses. The responsibility becomes divided, and the 
records fall. It is well to put the final responsibility upon 
the secretary for the correctness of records, and to let him 
know that you rely upon him for thorough work. 

Do the records show all that you want to know, or 
ought to know, about teachers and pupils? Note on a slip 
of paper what items of information you should have to 
enable you to keep track of the membership. You will 
need to know at least these facts : Full name — not merely 
the surname and initials; address; age and birthday of 

23 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

pupil; parents' names, occupation and church relation; 
whether pupil is a member of the church or not; date 
of uniting with the church; attendance record for each 
Sunday — on time or late. To this may be added a record 
of church attendance; of contributions; of proficiency in 
recitation of assigned work, or of the general lesson; 
and a note showing when the pupil brings another to the 
school. The Presbyterian Board of Publication can fur- 
nish you with information about a variety of record sys- 
tems, and will aid you in choosing the one best adapted to 
your school. 

3. Is the percentage of attendance as compared with 
enrollment what it should bef 

Look over the records for typical Sundays at various 
seasons of the year for a few years past, or even one year, 
and test the question. If you have an enrollment of 
two hundred and the attendance has averaged only one 
hundred on clear, pleasant Sundays, something is wrong. 
Fifty per cent attendance is too small. 

The trouble may be found in any one or in all of several 
directions : 

(a) The roll may need cutting down. Many persons 
on the roll may not now be entitled to membership in 
the school, because of removal from the neighborhood 
or regular attendance at some other school. 

(b) The percentage may be low because the occasional 
absentees are allowed to become chronic cases, through 
lack of any follow-up plan, either by letters or by per- 
sonal visits from teachers or officers, or from pupils ap- 
pointed for the occasion. 

(c) The percentage may be low because the general 
platform exercises of the school have fallen into dull and 

24 



THE SUPERINTENDENT 

uninteresting ways. In one large school in Trenton, 
New Jersey, the superintendent has tested this phase 
of the question so carefully that he is sure to notice a falling 
off in attendance whenever he ceases to exert himself in 
preparing an interesting program. 

(d) The percentage may be low because of an unfor- 
tunate placing of pupils in classes unsuited to their needs. 
The difficulty is subtle and cannot be cured in a moment, 
or even detected, without cautious and tactful study. 

A school that averages in attendance only fifty per 
cent of its enrollment on Sundays that are not stormy 
should be closely scanned for such common defects as 
are here noted. If you find that the percentage is about 
eighty, or better, it means that good work is going on, 
and naturally suggests an extending of the enrollment 
by getting in new members to benefit by the school life 
and work. 

^. Does the school sing heartily? 

Not noisily. Not necessarily mth fine effects in skilled 
chorus work. But does the school like to sing? Does it 
clearly show its enjoyment of the singing? Or is it a drag 
and a tug to rouse the school whenever a hymn is given 
out? If this most joyous and heartening part of the Sun- 
day-school service is a bore to the school, something is 
woefully wrong. The leader may be a scold or a driver, 
snapping his lash over a sullen team, made sullen by his 
nagging. Reform him or replace him. The hyinns may 
be unattractive to the boys and girls, who can so readily 
give that strong heartiness to a school's singing when 
they are asked to sing hymns they like. At least one of 
the more prominent hymn-book publishers never includes 
a hymn in any of his books until it has been tested by him 

25 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

in Sunday schools and has met with the evident approval 
of those who are asked to sing it. We should not be too 
much afraid to let a school sing hymns that the school 
likes, whether we, with our grown-up likes and dislikes, 
would prefer them or not. It is simply hopeless to get 
a school to sing heartily any hymns that are not heartily 
liked by the school. Your present hymn book may have 
many hymns in it that the school would like if it had a 
chance to try them. Or, again, it may be time for a new 
book. 

5. Has the school a workers^ meetingf 

By that is meant a meeting for lesson study, and for 
careful study of the school's needs. Such a meeting should 
be held once a week, on an evening set apart for it, or 
before or after the midweek prayer meeting. It will 
cost much sacrifice to arrange it. That meeting is worth 
all it costs — and more. Of course, it can't be done — if 
you look at the thing through the eyes of the "Can't- 
Do-Its." But it can be done, and should be, if you ex- 
pect to be superintendent of a real school, where definite, 
united, thorough work is done. 

6. How many pupib have united with the church in the 
past year? 

Check up the roll carefully, prayerfully. Note the 
classes where no such step has been taken by a single 
member who was outside the church one year ago. Do 
you know whether or not the teacher of that class ever 
puts the great invitation directly to the members of that 
class, individually? How have the general exercises helped 
in this direction? Has the school observed Decision Day? 
Have school prayer meetings been held frequently? You 
are at the heart of the school life just here. Your dis- 

26 



THE SUPERINTENDENT 

coveries, decisions and your doings as superintendent at 
this point, determine eternal issues. 

7. Is the school divided into the proper departments, 
so that all this work can be done at its best? 

Consider this. Do not be hampered by what you may 
call a lack of equipment. One of the finest Sunday schools 
in this country is scattered all through every nook and 
corner of the church building. Some of the greatest 
helps to good work are the inconveniences that you have. 
Any school, big or Httle, may be, should be, divided into 
departments according to the age of the pupils. What 
the departments may be is told elsewhere in this manual. 
In your inventory of the school the study of department 
arrangement must never be lost sight of. 

S. Does the school give systematically and understand- 
inglyf 

If the pupils are taught in the class and from the plat- 
form to give regularly, and are told how much is needed 
for any object, and the actual use to which the money is 
put, they will give more, and give more gladly, and learn 
more clearly the blessing of giving, than if they are merely 
told that "it is now time to make our usual offering." 
Does your school really know the where and the why of 
its gifts? Do you know, so that you could enlighten a boy 
or girl on the subject by information other than the mere 
name of a "board" or institution? Knowledge, — and 
consequently intelligent interest, — ^is at the heart of giving. 

Note closely, too, how the school expenses are met. 
Do the church authorities look out for these, or must the 
school do it? The school is the church at Bible study. 
The church as a whole should bear the expenses. 



27 



V 
PLANNING AND CARRYING OUT A PROGRAM 

EvEKY session of the school should be conducted accord- 
ing to a definite program. And the program calls for 
planning before it is used, and watchfulness, energy and 
enthusiasm in carrying it out when in use. 

Variety and Fitness. — ^Two factors should always be 
kept in mind in all this — variety and fitness. One lead- 
ing Sunday-school superintendent has said that the only 
regular feature of his program is variety. And variety 
is not even hard to get, if one remembers the need of fit- 
ness, appropriateness in the program, in accordance with 
the chief thought and purpose of the lesson. So varied 
is the Bible material that if the superintendent plans his 
program each Sunday to fit the lesson, his programs are 
bound to be varied, and he will not be likely to produce a 
dull or tiresome routine for the school session. 

The Elements of a Program. — In schools where money 
is not readily available for printed orders of service the 
superintendent need not be at a loss for a perfectly satis- 
factory plan for his program. Let him look over the 
lessons for the coming three months to discover what 
definite impression should be made upon the school by 
those lessons. He has several means at his disposal for 
helping the teachers to impress the lessons of that quarter. 
His choice of hymns, his choice of Scripture readings, in 

28 



THE SUPERINTENDENT 

addition to the lesson text, and the brief platform prayers, 
talks and blackboard work are the chief means that he 
will use. 

Choosing the Hymns. — ^The hymns should vary in senti- 
ment and musical character with the lessons. Some of 
the strong, militant hymns like ''Onward, Christian Sol- 
diers," or "Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus," will be chosen 
for lessons in which the march of God's kingdom and the 
loyalty of his followers are prominently taught. But 
hymns of that temper and tone are not wisely chosen for 
a lesson on the quieter virtues of patience or forbearance. 
It is easy, with the school hymn book in hand, to guard in 
advance against the choice of a hymn that cannot possibly 
add anything to the day's definite impression of the real 
lesson. 

Bible Readings Readily Found. — In lesson periodicals 
there are suggested Bible readings bearing on the lesson 
for each Sunday. The superintendent will find in these 
selections ample material for supplemental Scripture 
readings to use in the school session. 

Preparation for Prayer. — ^The preparation for prayer 
is ordinarily slight, and often lacking entirely. But 
prayer needs preparation, for the leader is not merely to 
utter stock phrases which have a devout sound, but he 
is to lead in prayer — to represent in God's presence the 
inmost heart-longings of a praying company of children, 
young people and grown folks. He is to talk with God 
in their behalf, in their stead. Can a man enter into a 
responsibility like that without preparation of the most 

29 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

earnest sort? And here again the lesson itself will guide 
one's thought. As the great life-thoughts of the lesson 
are revealed by study, the superintendent will see how 
these thoughts apply to the neighborhood life around 
him. Is the lesson "Jesus, the Good Shepherd"? That 
lesson will suggest to the superintendent, not prayer for 
deliverance from wars and pestilence, but the uplifting of 
voice and heart to God in thankfulness for the shepherding 
care of the Saviour, and in earnest appeal for the saving 
of those who are of the flock and yet not within the fold 
to-day. In the light of that lesson, prayer may be offered 
for the distressed, the wandering, the forsaken; for those 
who are choosing to remain unshepherded by the Good 
Shepherd. So the superintendent will speak to God for 
his fellow-workers and fellow-students, and his words will 
follow their heart-thoughts for the day. 

The Superintendent's Lesson Talk. — One of the temp- 
tations that is almost sure to beset a superintendent is the 
desire to talk from the platform after the lesson. Some 
call this address a review of the lesson, and it is — some- 
times. Usually, however, the danger is that the superin- 
tendent will merely try to impress a lesson truth that has 
appealed to him, while not really knowing what has been 
taught in the classes. A lesson review is out of the ques- 
tion unless the reviewer knows in the main what has been 
presented to the pupils as a first view. The superintend- 
ent's talk on the lesson is rarely a review of it, since he 
rarely knows just what the teachers have taught, because 
of no agreement or unison among the workers beforehand 
as to the truths that are to be taught on that day. Such 
unison in teaching can be gained in the regular teachers' 

30 



THE SUPERINTENDENT 

or workers' meeting, but hardly otherwise. And if the 
talk is not a real review, in this sense, it is Hkely to be dif- 
fuse, confusing, a bore to the school, with no good effect 
whatever. Brevity comes by careful planning, not by 
mere wishing; a clinching of the day's impressions implies 
at least a knowledge of what the impressions have been, 
judged by what the teaching has designed to do. And 
a single, clear-cut idea, pressed home, is infinitely more 
effective than many ideas made into a speech. 

A superintendent will realize that sometimes silence 
on his part is the best speech he can make, and no speech 
at all is far better than one that only sends the school's 
thought a-glimmering after an unimportant and perhaps 
untaught part of the lesson. The working, and not the 
talking, superintendent is needed in the average school. 

At the Blackboard. — Blackboard work is open to any 
superintendent who can make a mark with chalk, and see 
the gist of the lesson. Ability to draw" well can easily 
be a hindrance to blackboard work. The skilled maker 
of sketches is liable to draw too much — to give the eye 
more than it can catch quickly. The blackboard is a 
powerful, searching speaker, if allowed to speak simply. 
A word or two, a few lines, an erasure, an insertion, a 
simple design worked out before the school, can be made to 
deliver a direct and memorable lesson. 

But do not make the mistake of putting your black- 
board work on the board to appear there in full view of 
the school during the whole session. Nothing kills the 
effectiveness of blackboard work so quickly as its display 
before the instant of its use. One of its chief advantages 
is the sudden, surprising, unexpected appeal to the eye, 

31 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

brought into view as the truth is developed in the speaker's 
words. If the school sees the blackboard design before 
you begin to talk, your talk will have scant attention. 
Everyone in the room has reached your conclusions when 
you are only beginning to develop the idea. And that is 
fatal to interest and attention. 

Variety and Fitness in Method. — And how may a wise 
variety and fitness be gained in the methods of using 
hymns, Scripture readings, prayer, words from the plat- 
form and blackboard work? It is readily seen that if fit 
choices of material are made there will be variety. But 
the order of events, the method of handling material, 
also need variety and fitness. 

If a superintendent will plan at one time programs 
for several Sundays he will be more likely to avoid same- 
ness in method than if he plans only from Sunday to Sun- 
day. He can compare the programs more carefully, can 
add here and cut out there, and rearrange and reshape, 
to give freshness to his plan. For instance, on the first 
Sunday he might have the school open with a hymn, fol- 
lowed by prayer; on the next, with silent prayer, followed 
by a hymn; on the next by having the school repeat in 
unison a psalm appropriate to the day's lesson, followed 
by a hymn and prayer. And so from week to week he can, 
in wonderfully wide variety, plan the way in which the 
session is to be opened. 

Variety in Scripture Reading. — Again, there is no lack 
of variety in ways of Scripture reading. It is not neces- 
sary that the school should always read the lesson by the 
ordinary method of alternating between platform and 

32 



THE SUPERINTENDENT 

school. Let the superintendent read one verse, the 
teachers the next, the girls the next, the boys the next, 
and all together the next, and so on through the lesson. 
Or let the pastor conduct the reading, reading part way 
through a verse, while the whole school takes up the read- 
ing where he ceases, and finishes the verse in concert. 
This method quickens attention amazingly. Or, again, 
write upon slips of paper the number of each verse in the 
lesson, hand these to classes just before the opening of 
the school, and ask each class to respond by reading from 
the Bibles in concert that verse, when you call for it. 
Once more, when you wish the lesson as a whole to be 
clearly brought before the school, select a good reader 
from among the pupils, and have that one come to the 
platform, while you and the rest of the school listen atten- 
tively to the reading of the lesson. 

Supplemental Bible reading can be made particularly 
interesting by calling upon teachers and pupils for special 
parts of it. In your week's reading of passages bearing 
on the lesson you -vvall find material for this. Select such 
verses or whole passages as you wish to use; indicate on a 
slip of paper their location; and hand these slips to a few 
teachers and pupils before the school session. Then, 
just preceding the reading of the lesson, briefly explain 
that in order to help all to understand better the lesson 
itself, some members of the school will read a few por- 
tions of Scripture giving light on the lesson and its teach- 
ings. By a series of questions which you have prepared 
to draw out as answers the assigned verses, call for the 
verses or passages, one by one. If these are read in a 
clear and distinct way, the exercise holds the attention 
of the school effectively. 

33 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

Variety in the Superintendent's Talk. — ^The superin- 
tendent's word on the lesson need not come always at 
the close of the session, but may sometimes precede the 
study period. Then he may speak briefly of a single point 
which he hopes no one will overlook, but with care not 
to take the edge off the teachers' work by expatiating on 
the lesson; or he may state that after the lesson period 
he will call upon the school to answer a question about 
the lesson, which he now gives out. Either of these 
methods may be used to focus the teaching on one phase 
or another of the theme for the day, or to emphasize a 
point that should have special note. Sometimes object 
talks should be used. Often no talk at all is needed. 
It is better to have pupils and teachers wish that the super- 
intendent had spoken on the lesson than to have them sorry 
that he did. 

Nor should the blackboard be used, necessarily, every 
Sunday; and when used, as it should be very often, it 
need not be brought into the teaching at invariably the 
same point in the service. Sometimes a design may be 
used to illustrate truth, sometimes a word or two as a 
means of fastening the lesson truth in the school's thought. 

Numerous other items readily suggest themselves, 
such as solos, recitation of Scripture passages, or appro- 
priate lesson poems read or recited by individual pupils; 
prayer by teachers or pupils; a missionary address with 
objects from mission fields; special programs worked out 
from start to finish with one theme in mind, such as 
faith, prayer, hope, courage, and programs for special 
days. 

All this and more can be done without one cent of ex- 
pense for printed matter. But each program should 

34 



THE SUPERINTENDENT 

be written out for the superintendent's use, filed for 
reference and used as a help later in securing variety. 
If money is available for printed orders of exercise, they 
will be useful if not used for too long a time. They can 
be printed on two sides of durable cards about eight by 
ten inches in size, and can be prepared by a committee, 
if desired, with the superintendent as chairman. The 
printed order of service gives a definiteness to the pro- 
gram that helps toward order and steadiness in the school, 
and advance preparation by the superintendent. 

Review Sunday. — ^Among all the plans for Review 
Sunday, the written review is here earnestly commended 
as having very many advantages. It is not likely to be 
popular at first. It is easier for teacher and pupils to go 
on from Sunday to Sunday without tests so accurate 
as the actual writing down of answers to questions; but 
when once started, the written review is a great factor 
in school life. 

At the beginning of the quarter let it be understood 
from the platform that at the end of the quarter, on 
Review Sunday, the superintendent will put a few ques- 
tions, possibly one on each lesson, which he will ask the 
school to answer in writing. The review may include 
all in the school who can write. Occasionally during the 
quarter ask, in a brief, two-minute review, a few questions 
on the preceding lessons, in order to keep the school alive 
to the coming quarterly review. 

On Review Sunday see to it that each pupil and teacher 
is supplied with an ample sheet of paper and a well- 
sharpened pencil. It will pay you to buy, by the gross 
or dozen, enough pencils, at a cent or less apiece, to use 

35 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

again and again in the reviews. The boys will enjoy 
sharpening them for you. 

Prepare very carefully ten questions on the quarter's 
lessons — questions not hard at all at first — and let the first 
two or three of the ten be so easy that they will seem al- 
most too easy to the school. Dictate the questions from 
the desk, and ask the pupils and teachers not to write 
the questions, but the answers, properly numbered, and 
to put at the head of the sheet the writer's name and class 
name or number. 

Dictate very slowly, repeating the questions several 
times, and assuring the school that you will allow plenty 
of time for the answers. It is important that no one 
should be hurried, especially in the first test. 

Let the teacher gather the papers and pencils at the 
close of the review period, sending them to the platform 
by class members. The pencils may be kept by the 
secretary for future school use. The papers may be turned 
over to a committee of three teachers for examination 
and marking, or may be read and marked by the superin- 
tendent. It will give you a new and intimate view of 
what teaching has been done in the school. 

In reporting on the papers, those who have answered 
every question correctly may constitute an honor list, 
and the names of all who have attained an average of, 
say, seventy-five or over may be read. Some will prefer 
to read class averages, though there is a danger that this 
may not always be quite fair to the class in which ability 
varies widely. 

The written review sets up higher standards in any 
school for teacher and pupil, and is sure to quicken both 
teaching and study where it is thoroughly tested. 

36 



.VI 

THE SUPERINTENDENT'S COUNCIL 

The Superintendent's Council is a feature of the well- 
organized school which means more to each department 
than many words could tell. The Council is made up of 
the officers of the school and the committee chairmen, 
where special work or departments of work are under 
the care of the committees. 

The superintendent needs the Council. He can accom- 
plish more for the school with it than without it. He 
can get more done in less time and with less doubt as to the 
acceptability of his plans than in any other way. 

The Council could well meet once a month for an even- 
ing's work. The questions to be decided by it should be 
clearly outlined before the meeting, so far as possible, 
and sent in writing to each member. This gives definite- 
ness to the meeting, and affords to the members of the 
Council an opportunity to think over the questions in 
advance. 

Special meetings may readily be called by the superin- 
tendent to deal with emergencies. He will find wisdom 
in such a group, and he will do well to add that wisdom 
to his own. 

All important plans for school improvement should be 
considered by the Council before action is taken by the 
teachers, and should have the Council's approval before 
going into effect. In this way many ill-advised plans can 
be set aside, and many good plans started at their best. 

37 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

The Superintendent's Council is a clearing house for all 
the most important school matters, and the superintend- 
ent will do well to avail himself of such a means of wise 
management. 



38 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WOKK 



II 
THE SECRETARY AND HIS ASSISTANTS 

BY 

Rev. a. H. McKINNEY, Ph.D. 



39 



THE SECKETAEY AND HIS ASSISTANTS 



INTRODUCTORY 

In any work for God what the worker is counts for far 
more than what he does. Character and consecration 
are more valuable assets than cleverness and brilliancy. 
The "good and faithful servant" received the Master's 
commendation and reward. At the same time there are 
diversities of gifts and differences of operation. Not every 
good man is fitted to be the ideal secretary of a Sunday 
school. There are many misfits in this oflBce as there 
are elsewhere. Better be an efficient something else 
than a secretary that interferes with the best possible 
progress of the Sunday school. 

Many secretaries have begun work in Sunday schools 
without training. They have had no one to direct them. 
The literature pertaining to their work is meager. Hence 
they go along as best they can, but that "best" is not 
what it might be. 

These chapters are prepared to help secretaries to know 
themselves and their work, and to suggest some principles 
from which may be formulated rules and methods of pro- 
cedure. These principles are as applicable to the small 
school in the country as to the larger school in the village 
or to the very large school in the city. 

A successful merchant who had just investigated a 

41 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

Sunday school, with mind alert, eyes open and tongue 
ready to ask searching questions, said to the superin- 
tendent, "Tell me in a sentence the secret of the success 
of this school." Instantly the reply came: "Attention to 
details." He knew how much the efficient secretary of 
that school had to do with its success because of his un- 
tiring attention to details. 

Nothing should be considered too insignificant to engage 
the secretary's attention, and nothing too large to be 
attempted by him, for the small things as well as the great 
things count when a verdict is to be rendered as to the 
success or the failure of a Sunday school. 



42 



n 

HIS MAKE-UP 

There are several characteristics which determine the 
success or the failure of a Sunday-school secretary. 
While these traits may not all be found in a marked degree 
in one person, the absence of any of them militates against 
the best service. 

Conscientious. — ^Above everything else, the secretary 
should be conscientious, because his work consists in a 
large measure in keeping records which are valuable in 
the ratio that they approximate perfection. Statistics 
should be based on facts and not on guesses. No average 
attendance can be about three hundred. An average is 
obtained by an arithmetical calculation. Hence the 
secretary must be absolutely correct in his figures if they 
are to have any value. A haphazard method of ^'suppos- 
ing" should have no place in a Sunday school where char- 
acter is to be developed. 

Intelligent. — The old theory, that a young fellow who 
was not fitted for any other position in the Sunday school 
could be made secretary, has been outgrown in these 
later years of Sunday-school development. So much de- 
pends upon the secretary's intelligent appreciation of the 
value of the details of his work that too much emphasis 
cannot be placed on this trait of his make-up. As he is 

43 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

to be more than a figurehead or mere scribe, the greater 
his intelhgence the more he will be able to help in the prog- 
ress of the work of the school. One of the best Sunday- 
school secretaries known to the writer was a business man 
with many and varied interests who brought the same 
grade of intelligence into his Sunday-school office as into 
his week-day occupations. Why should not God's work 
have the best? 

Systematic. — ^A person may be conscientious to a 
degree and yet so lacking in system that he is not to be 
trusted as a keeper of records of any importance. No 
matter how small a Sunday school may be, unless its 
secretary is systematic his work will soon get into such 
a condition that it is valueless. Much more is this the 
fact in large schools. Many things must be done every 
Sunday, at a given time, and as a matter of routine; 
otherwise confusion results. If the bank clerk must be 
systematic, why not the secretary of a Sunday school? 

Trained. — It is often most difficult to get training in 
secretarial work. In large schools it is possible to take 
young men or young women and put them to work as 
substitutes or assistant secretaries with the twofold 
object of benefiting the school by their services while 
they are being trained for more important work. A 
business training is of the greatest value to one who would 
act as secretary. If the same industry and common sense 
are put into work for the Sunday school as are demanded 
in business life the work of the school is helped mightily. 

The secretary who is eager for training will learn these 
facts: 1. Much valuable information may be gained by 

44 



THE SECRETARY 

visiting other Sunday schools and conversing with suc- 
cessful secretaries. 2. The secretaries' club ought to be a 
means of education for the secretary. 3. Conferences of 
Sunday-school secretaries are held in connection with in- 
stitutes and conventions. 4. Sunday-school periodicals 
should be studied; they contain helpful suggestions for 
secretaries 

Here, as in other fields of effort, where there is a will 
there is a way. He who will get instruction and training 
will find opportunities of learning how to become more 
proficient in his secretarial work. 

Consecrated. — To believe in one's work and to act as if 
it were worth the best that is in one will insure success. 
The secretary who appreciates the part he is playing in the 
progress of the kingdom and who magnifies his office 
will not be deficient in the necessary qualities referred to. 
He will not only study his work, but himself also. He 
will seek to realize wherein he is deficient and will set 
himself to remedy his deficiencies. He will embrace all 
opportunities for improvement and by degrees will 
become what he thinks he ought to be. His consecration 
will lead him toward the highest and best in his work 
and will keep him from being easily offended or discour- 
aged. 

Cooperative. — ^There are some excellent secretaries, so 
far as their clerical work is concerned, who are worse than 
useless because of their unwillingness to cooperate in the 
work of the school. They look upon their office and its 
equipment as their own private property, and resent any 
intimation that others have anything to do with their 

45 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

time or manner of working. Such foolish workers inter- 
fere with the disciphne of the school by being a law unto 
themselves as to when and how their work shall be done. 
They interfere with the work of teachers and officers by 
insisting on having their own way. At first their fellow 
workers dread them and then avoid them, and they them- 
selves come to the conclusion that it is very difficult to do 
secretarial work. The cooperative secretary has learned 
that there are times and ways of doing his much-needed 
work so as not to disturb, distract or impede others. 
How much this cooperation means is evident by comparing 
a school blessed by a cooperative secretary with a school 
cursed by one who runs things to suit himself. 

Courteous. — There are many things connected with a 
secretary's position that have a tendency to vex and annoy; 
there is much that might be made occasion for fault- 
finding. The courteous secretary puts his pride into his 
pocket, and for his Master's sake becomes the servant 
of all in the school. He studies to be quiet, attentive, 
polite, responsive. He realizes that for Sunday-school 
machinery — as for all other machines — oil is much more 
effective than sand. Pupils, teachers and officers Hke 
to come to his room or desk, for they know that they will 
be pleasantly received and patiently listened to. The 
author thinks of two secretaries: The first was conscien- 
tious in the extreme. His attention to details was re- 
markable. But he was lacking in intelligence. He had 
no vision of better things ahead. He could not dis- 
criminate between the important and the unimportant. 
He spent so much time on relatively trivial matters that 
he rarely caught up with the pressing demands of the day. 

46 



THE SECRETARY 

He tried to please everyone, but he spent so much time 
in explaining why he did valueless work that he became 
a bore. When he removed to another state his Sunday- 
school friends were not grieved at his departure. In 
looking for his successor the workers said to one another, 
"Let us find some one with sense enough to appreciate 
that some things may be left undone and that some words 
are best unspoken." His successor was a well-trained 
young business man. He knew his work from A to Z. 
His records were models of correctness and neatness. 
His reports were most illuminating. When he resigned, 
however, because of an imagined insult there was rejoicing 
throughout the Sunday school. Despite his intelligence 
and system he was lacking in that kind of devotion that 
would have enabled him to cooperate with others. 

If the consecration of the one secretary had been united 
with the intelligence of the other, the result would have 
been an ideal worker. But is not this combination too 
ideal to be found in one person? This question suggests 
another. How important is the work of the secretary 
of the Sunday school? Much depends on the answer. If 
the work is of little importance not much need be required 
of the worker. 

Preparing for the Best Service. — The secretary of the 
Sunday school or the candidate for that position who 
concludes after due investigation that the work of the 
secretary is worthy the best that one is or has, will aim 
for proficiency. Like the professional man or the busi- 
ness man who is not satisfied with present attainments, 
he will take pains to prepare himself for the very best 
service. Many will be benefited because of his endeavors 

47 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

after the best, but the one reaping the largest harvest will 
be himself. 

The secretary's work calls for a person who bulks big 
in many directions. Where this is recognized, the proper 
type of man or woman is selected for the office. Where 
the ideal has been held up high, incumbents have fitted 
themselves for their positions. Why not? 

The writer has a number of friends ranging from thirty 
to fifty years of age who have good positions, yielding large 
salaries, who are studying to fit themselves to do their 
work better. Why? Because they realize that it is 
worth while to do the very best work. A successful 
physician with a large, remunerative practice every now 
and then takes a few weeks' postgraduate work or instruc- 
tion. Why? Not because he is not rendering good serv- 
ice, but because he knows that it is worth while to pre- 
pare himself for better work. 



48 



Ill 

HIS RECORDS 

A FAITHFUL, progressive superintendent may have his 
work greatly interfered with by an inefficient secretary, 
or one who does not cooperate with him. The efforts 
of earnest teachers may be hindered by a secretary who 
does not understand his business or by one who fails to 
reaHze that he may be a helper to everyone in the school 
through the records which he makes and preserves. 

Just the kind of records that a Sunday-school secretary 
should keep depends on many things. In some form or 
another he should have a complete registry of the members 
of all the departments, with their residences and church 
affiliations. Other data — such as age, birthday, members 
of the family of each pupil and worker — may be recorded 
as local conditions require. A record should be kept of 
every member's attendance, deportment, credits received 
for work done and demerits, if it be the custom of the 
school to mark for disorder, lack of attention, etc. 

The secretary's records should be: 

Simple. — A complex, complicated or intricate system 
of records may bear witness to the ingenuity of the sec- 
retary, but will not prove helpful in the conduct of the 
school. The fewest possible words or figures adequate 
to record the facts should be aimed at. 

49 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

Comprehensive. — While simpHcity is desirable, com- 
prehensiveness should not be overlooked. The records 
should include all necessary facts and at times suggestions 
made for future reference. 



Systematically Arranged. — ^There are many methods 
of keeping Sunday-school records. ^The secretary must 
decide on the methods best suited to the size of his school 
and the work it is doing. Whatever kinds of records are 
adopted they should be well arranged. System aims at 
doing the largest possible amount of work with the ex- 
penditure of the least time and effort 

Accessible. — Sunday-school records are not the personal 
property of the secretary. They belong to the school. 
It should be understood that certain specific individuals 
have the right to consult them. Therefore they should 
be kept where they are accessible. If it is advisable to 
put them under lock and key, the key should be at hand 
at all times, or duplicates of it made, so that the authorized 
persons will have no difficulty in getting at the records 
when they are needed. 

Written Up. — Most annoying is it for the pastor or 
superintendent or any other authorized person consulting 
the secretary's records to discover that the desired facts 
have not been recorded at the proper time. It is not 
enough that old records should be written up. Records of 
two or of ten years ago are valuable, but sometimes it is 
necessary to know also facts of recent date; to be known 
they must be recorded in legible shape. 

50 



THE SECRETARY 

Preserved. — Years after the Sunday-school secretary's 
records are made they may be needed in order to settle 
disputed points, or to furnish information on matters 
that have grown indistinct in the memory of those con- 
cerned. Comparisons have to be made frequently. 
Hence, the Sunday-school secretary should see to it that 
his records are preserved in some lasting form. Cir- 
cumstances must determine the method of keeping the 
records in good condition. From time to time the 
present secretary of the school should make it his busi- 
ness to ascertain whether the records that have been 
handed down from the past are being kept for future 
use. 

As has been suggested in the foregoing, the particular 
form of record must be determined by the person who keeps 
it. For many purposes card indexes are most available, 
as they furnish a form of record which is readily accessible 
for present use and which may be systematically filed 
for the future. Loose leaves are now much used by Sun- 
day-school secretaries because they economize time, labor 
and money. 

A scrapbook, containing programs of services used on 
special occasions and also copies of the various blanks 
and forms employed in the routine work of the school, in- 
creases in value as the years roll on. Much time is saved 
by individuals and committees when such a book has 
been intelligently filled and is kept available for ready 
reference. 

A file cabinet or closet of some kind is an essential 
adjunct to every secretary's room. This piece of furni- 
ture should be in a dry place and kept clean, for moth and 
rust work havoc with valuable records. 

51 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

The following is suggestive as a permanent card record. 
It is printed on two sides : 



NAMI 


rnu-M) 


OIAM hO. Oh PtaciO 


AilimV^.j'-"'" 






BOW 


DAT! 


puaue aCMOet 


MCO VUM 




r 


«. 

_ 


VMS 


nouoHTn 


'" *"*•• ""■ 


MTHM'i Mill 






lUMI or lOIII PEUON OTHER THiM * REtATIVt 


ASmEH 




rMINTt OMUPATION. 


MMOOl Ul«T ATTiMOB) BT APPUCAUT 




HAt APWJMNT Evn ATTtXOIO THIi tCOOOl,' IF 


■OMIBmTATtWHIM 


•APTiaiB 


IP HEHBOI Of CHtfRCH, WHAT OK! AKO WHEIII 


OTMM MUIBUMP »A«ILV IN TM1» MHOOL 










»A««T.ATr«OOHU«H»T 




.^^ r 


•OlMMt 




ORAOI CHTOltD 0* Pit 


oMorie 


OMOL. 


"•'"""• '"'"*" 


JUMIOII 


iirrt*. 


•tmea 


•OUVT 


TUOHCa 


errioia 


OATt urr M OMPP 


(0 












.. 






■ 



TRANSFER RECORD 


■"""■ 


CLA98 No. CHANGED 


^T" 


"*" '"" ""■ 


TO. 


OAT. 




raoH 


" 


B«T> 








































































































RtTURNEO TO SCHOOL 


LftST ROLL No. 




1 




DAT! 


nou. Ha. 






























































^ 




. 


tirt Oa BROPPID, DATE 


cAuaa 
























,oa..| 



52 



THE SECRETARY 

This card, different in color from the foregoing, is used 
as a permanent record of marks received in a school 
where credits are given for attendance, punctuality, 
deportment and work done: 



CLASS 










MOLL NO. 










NAME OP PUPIL 


' 


■ 










OATC 






























— 










1 








































' 








'■ 












' 










(oTMCn SIOE FOB ADDITIONAL NCCORO) 

















. «eeo«i5 or w 


ARKS 


necBive 













JANUA«T 


Februart 


March 


Atdc. 


Exam. 


Totals 




TEAR 


1 


a 1 3 


4 


5 


' 


a 


3 


4 


S 


1 


3 


3 


4 


5 










.1914 










1 




























.1915 






































,1916 






































I9IT 






































I918 








































April 


May 


JUNE 










.1914 








































1915 








































I9'6 
















1 






















.191? 






































_l9r8 
















1 
























JULV 


August 


September 










IQ14 








1 






























_19I5 








1 






























.»9i6 








































.1917 








































.'918 










































OCTOEBR 


November 


Deom 


BEE 








Summary 


.19^^ 








































.1915 








































.I9I6 








































«9«7 








1 






























t9l8 








1 






























is "»l. 


•war- 


• ■ • 


c*a< 


■ •c 


b>B ■ 


»«T. 










" 






-' " 








-pomrn^ 



53 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

In addition to the birthday records kept in the different 
grades of the Elementary Department, a card should be 
kept by the general secretary as a permanent birthday 
record, so that the member's birthday is known, no mat- 
ter how many times he has been promoted or in what 
department he may be. 

The card is useful for many purposes, but one use 
should never be neglected. It should act as a reminder 
to send a birthday greeting to the pupil. Let it be re- 
membered, too, that the greeting should be sent just at 
the proper time. This is the card: 



■^"^-m'-'ri 


MONTH 






1 








».««•• -. 












AOOMCS* ^,,,.^^ _ 




(m »«N( 


.w) 




















„?«fr.*«iT'"«"^.., .„._,«,..,-.._.. 












•i'A- 








































TH< "0L,V.T.- ....CO ..CC.O .Y.T.M 



Note. — Form 3 of this system is an exact duplicate of 
form 2 in everything except color. When a person leaves 
the school and afterwards returns, his record from the 
time of his return is kept on a card of a color different 
from that of form 2. Form 2 is white; 3 is green. 

The following cards and envelopes, published by the 
Westminster Press, explain themselves; 

54 



THE SECRETARY 



ENROLLMENT CARD 



Oata of EnralbnMit 



SUNDAY SCHOOL 



-Church 



.Btrthday»«. 



Number 
Rott 1 Class 



Baptised t. 



Parents Membera of Church?- 

Transferred to Class No> 

Left the School-Date-. : 



Church Membert^ 
H~- What Charon t. 



.Why. 



PUPIL'S ATTENDANC E CARD F OR THE SECRETARY 

- ..™_.«^_„._-^ -SCHOOL 



intermediate 

Junior 

Primary 



Xhurch 



1913 
1914 
191ft 



Entered School 



Number 
Roll I Class 



tst Quarter 



2nd Quarter 



3rd Quarter 



4th Quarter 



Jan 12 3 4 5 
Feb 12 3 4 
Mar 12 3 4 6 



April 12 3 4 6 
May 12 3 4 5 
June 12 3 4 6 



July / 2 3 4 5 
Aug 12 3 4 6 
Sept. 12 3 4 6 



Oct. 12 3 4 6 
Nov 12 3 4 5 

Dee. 12 3 4 6 



BIBLE CLASS ENROLLMENT CARD 



NAME. _ - 

A00AC8S ... 

INTROOUCCO BV- 



OATE or ENflOLLMENT. 



Cnurch relation. 



55 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 



TEACHER'S ATTENDANCE CARD 

FOH THE SECRETARY 



GRADE ^ 
6«niop 
lnt«rmedl«t« 
Junior 
Primary 



.-SCHOOL 



Xhurch 



1911 
1912 
1913 



Entsrod School' 



Numbor 
RoU I Class 



1st Quarter 



Jan. 1 2 3 4 ft 
Fob. 1 2 3* 
Mar. 12 3 4 5 



2nd Quarter 



April 12 3 4 6 
May 12 3 4 5 
June 12 3 4 5 



3rd Quarter 



July 12 3 4 5 
Aug. 12 3 4 5 
Sept. 1 2-346 



Oct. 12 3 4 5 
Nov. 1 2 3 4 C 
Deo. 12 3 4 5 



BIRTHDAY iJECORD 



Name 




Promotions .^,.^,^<m^. 



TEACHER'S CLASS ENVELOPE. 



CLASS NO 



INSTRUCTIONS: 

These envdopes will te distributed to the respecfive teachers atev^ 
Sunday School session, each envelope containing all the cards for diat 
class, viz:— one for each pupil (also to-day's Report Slip).. 

The Teacher will remove from the envelope tl« ^ds of abseiit pupils, 
leaving only those of pupils present at the session ia the envelope. 

The Secr^ary will collect the envelopes aiid the Cfflrds pf the absent 
pupils, and after punching the space for that Sunday, he will replatee. 
the cards in the envelope, which he retains until the next week.. 

Under no circumstances destroy a card; use the To-day's Report Slip 
to report to the Secretary when a pupil h^ left the Sdiool with the date 
and cause of leaving. If a pupil ent»s thdf dass, report it to the secre-. 
tary, and if the pupil is from another dass or department of the School, 
be very particular to mention it. * 

ICevise the list of yoor p9pU9 at tlie end of eiN»y quaxter. 
•Rcn VNiU. w; TheW««lmlnator£ard ftamnl'Syjitflmt 



56 



IV 

HIS REPORTS 

What advertising is to the well-regulated business, 
reports are to the Sunday school: they keep the members 
intelligently informed of what is going on, they show rea- 
sons for encouragement, and they point out where in- 
creased effort must be put forth in order to maintain 
present standards and go forward to higher achievements. 
While the secretary is not the only officer who has it in 
his power to benefit the school by his reports, those given 
by him are of the utmost importance. The secretary's 
reports are of many kinds and should be made to various 
agencies and individuals. 

In the Superintendent's Council. — ^The Superintendent's 
Council is composed of a small number of officers of the 
school. It is called by other names, such as The Super- 
intendent's Cabinet, The Superintendent's Advisory 
Committee, or The Executive Committee. Its chief 
function is to be well informed concerning the work of 
all departments of the school, and to plan ahead in such 
a way that the school may be kept on its highest plane 
of efficiency. The secretary should be a member of this 
Council. To it he should render at its regular meetings 
reports giving facts concerning the school's condition 
and needs. From time to time he should furnish informa- 
tion on which may be based intelligent action by the Coun- 

57 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

cil in planning for the development of the work of the 
school. 

In Teachers' Meetings. — ^Whatever meetings are held in 
connection with the Sunday school for the study of the 
lesson and instruction in principles of teaching, there 
should be in addition regular meetings for the purpose of 
transacting the business of the school. Ordinarily, such 
meetings are held once a month. An annual meeting 
should also be held, at which the work of the year is re- 
viewed and the work of the coming year previewed. 
To these business meetings should come suggestions from 
the Council. In many cases it is wise for the Council 
to work out plans of procedure so that very much time 
may not be spent in the teachers' meetings in discussing 
unimportant details. At these teachers' meetings the 
secretary's reports will furnish data on which intelligent 
action may be based. Other reports given by him should 
indicate whether plans adopted have been helpful or other- 
wise. 

To the School. — ^Many Sunday schools receive a report 
from the secretary concerning the attendance of the Sunday 
preceding. A better plan, and one which is successfully 
carried out in some schools, is for the secretary to report 
toward the close of the session what has actually taken 
place in the school on that day. The following facts 
should be included in such a report, which may be varied 
according to the size of the school: 

The attendance in each department — ^teachers, boys, 
girls, men, women; the attendance of oflScers; the num- 
ber of visitors; the number of tardy officers, teachers and 

58 



THE SECRETARY 

pupils; the total attendance; the per cent of attendance to 
enrollment for the day and for the corresponding day of 
the previous year; the offering for the day, for the previous 
Sunday and for the corresponding Sunday of the previous 
year; remarks as to weather, unusual circumstances, etc. 

For smaller schools, the following, taken from Fer- 
gusson's Ideal Record for Small Sunday Schools, is sug^ 
gestive: 

Special reports should be made from time to time in 
order to tell the members of the school what has been 
accomplished, or to spur them on to attempting greater 
things in their school life and work. Reports put in at- 
tractive form and hung in accessible places in the school- 
room or building often produce marked results; for aU 
interested may consult these reports at their leisure and 
make helpful deductions as the result of studying them. 

To the Departments. — ^In a large school each department 
will naturally have its own secretary, who will keep in avail- 
able form the records of that department. The general 
secretary of the school, however, will also keep records 
of all departments, for the school must be considered as a 
whole. From time to time the secretary will report con- 
cerning the various departments as a whole, or will make 
reports to departments of facts or figures concerning other 
departments. 

To the Superintendent. — ^The progressive superintendent 
uses his eyes incessantly in order to keep informed concern- 
ing the condition of his school. By close and intelligent ob- 

59 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

servation he is able frequently to understand just what is 
needed in order to prevent deterioration in certain direc- 
tions, and also to prepare for advancement in other direc- 
tions. Most helpful to him will be reports furnished by 
the secretary, who deals largely with figures. There 
should be, therefore, not only the closest harmony between 
superintendent and secretary, but the latter should be 
on the alert to help the former by furnishing him data on 
which to base intelligent thought and action. 

To Other Officers— The other officers of the Sunday 
school may desire information which the secretary can 
rightly furnish from his records. Such information 
should always be forthcoming when asked for, and at 
times should be given before the request is made. For 
example, the librarian of the Sunday school may get 
figures from the secretary which will enable him to de- 
cide whether the library is being made use of by the school. 
The treasurer may obtain statistics which will help him 
in appealing to the school for the funds for which he is 
responsible. 

To the Denomination. — ^Those who have had much to 
do with the compilation of denominational statistics are 
tempted to lose faith in human nature. They have found 
that it is very difficult to get figures from some churches, 
and they have also discovered that the figures furnished are 
not always as reliable as they should be. In many cases 
the denominational statistics include those of the Sunday 
school. Hence, the secretary of the school may do much, 
not only for his denomination but for the Church at large, 
by furnishing to those who have the right to ask for them 

60 



THE SECRETARY 

correct and up-to-date reports of the facts of his Sunday 
school. 

To the Organized Work. — If the Sunday school is situ- 
ated in a city, there is probably a city or county interdenom- 
inational Sunday-school association which asks for statistics 
of every school within its bounds. These figures are not 
asked for capriciously or thoughtlessly. It is of import- 
ance that accurate figures should be obtained and passed 
on, so that the world may be kept informed as to the true 
numerical status of the Sunday school as an institution. 
Sometimes it is a state association or even the Interna- 
tional Sunday School Association that asks for figures. 
The Christian secretary should consider it his privilege as 
well as duty to furnish such figures, so that reports may be 
correct. 



61 



HIS RELATIONSHIPS 

Next to the superintendent, the secretary comes into 
most frequent and closest relationship with the largest 
number of persons in the Sunday school. Either per- 
sonally or through his assistants he should be in constant 
and helpful contact with all departments of the school. 
His office should combine the functions of a bureau of 
information and a bureau of exchange. The personality 
of the secretary will determine his relationship with the 
various individuals and agencies with which he is officially 
brought into contact. 

To the Superintendent. — Just as the engineer is indis- 
pensable to the captain of a steamboat, the secretary ought 
to be the dependable helper of the superintendent of the 
Sunday school. The relationship between these two should 
be cordial and responsive. While the superintendent gives 
the secretary due credit for his efforts, the latter should 
act on the theory that he is to afford every possible assist- 
ance to the former. When either officer stands on his 
rights, the school suffers; when both forget self in the effort 
to help each other, the school is greatly benefited. A 
little of the milk of human kindness helps marvelously 
even in the routine work of the Sunday school. 

To the Assistants. — Even in the smallest Sunday school 
the secretary should endeavor to have an assistant. If there 

62 



THE SECRETARY 

is not enough work for two persons, an assistant is essential. 
There are times when the secretary is absent; then the 
assistant, who has had some experience, can carry on the 
secretary's work and the school need not suffer. The 
secretary may move away or he may be disabled. No 
time is wasted in the endeavor to secure a successor where 
an assistant has been broken in. In large schools there 
should be assistants in sufficient numbers to do the neces- 
sary secretarial work so that no one person will be unduly 
burdened with it. While the secretary must necessarily 
direct his assistants, all his dealings with them should 
be with that love that suffereth long and is kind, that 
vaunteth not itself, that is not puffed up, that is not 
easily provoked and that endureth all things. 

To the Substitutes. — In a great railway system there is 
not only an assistant ready to take the place of everyone 
who occupies an important position, in the event of his 
disability, but there is a substitute ready in an emergency 
to take the place of the assistant. This arrangement is 
necessary, for no one can predict what may occur on a 
railway. In addition to his assistant the secretary should 
have a substitute ready at any time to take the place of 
the latter. The number of substitutes should at least 
equal the number of assistants. The aim of the secre- 
tary should be to instruct and encourage these substitutes 
so that they shall be ready and willing to assume responsi- 
bility when the necessity for doing so arises. 

To the Members of the School. — "Come to me when you 
want anything and I shall do the best I can to help you" 
is an expression that should indicate the relationship of the 

63 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

secretary to other officers of the school, to teachers and 
to pupils. His manifested, sincere desire to be helpful 
will encourage others to come to him, and in return he will 
find that others are willing to cooperate with him when he 
desires assistance. The secretary who is careful to main- 
tain a cordial relationship with all the members of the 
school will rarely have to complain that they do not re- 
spond to his requests. The secretary who is badly 
treated by his fellow workers should look into a mirror 
to ascertain why people are not friendly to him. 

To the Church. — ^The Sunday school is a department of 
the church. Everything that can be done to emphasize 
the school's relationship to the church helps both school 
and church. The secretary may do much good by furnish- 
ing to the pastor and to the church officers such reports 
as will keep the church membership informed concerning 
the school. He should be in a position to bring to the 
school facts and suggestions that will keep its members 
interested in the church. The cordial relationship that 
should exist between church and Sunday school may be 
cemented by a secretary who appreciates how necessary 
such a union is in the work of the kingdom of God. 

To Institutes.— The day has come in some places when 
the work of the Sunday-school secretary receives proper 
consideration at conventions and institutes. As the vision 
of the value of his work broadens, more attention will 
be paid to his office in the large and the small gatherings 
of Sunday-school workers. A conference of secretaries 
ought to be held in connection with every county and 
every state convention. When such conferences are held 

64 



THE SECRETARY 

the secretary should make much of the opportunity of 
helping and of being helped. An alert secretary will join 
with his fellow secretaries in the endeavor to hold such 
conferences where they have not yet become the fashion, 
for the interchange of ideas and the comparison of methods 
will benefit greatly the schools represented. 

To Visitors. — In a well-regulated school in a large city 
there is a reception committee. A member of this commit- 
tee greets every visitor to the school and seats him where 
he may have a good view of what is going on. After the 
opening devotional services there is a time set for visiting 
the various departments. Each visitor is asked if there 
is any department in which he is especially interested 
or concerning which he would like particular infor- 
mation. Frequently the desire is expressed for a visit 
to the secretary's room, for the visitor has heard how 
carefully the records are kept. The visitor is not dis- 
appointed; he not only receives many hints that he can 
apply in his own work, but he is so courteously treated 
by the secretary and his assistants that he leaves the 
room with a very greatly enlarged conception of how help- 
ful a secretary may be, not only to his own school but also 
to agencies and individuals outside the local church. 



65 



VI 

HIS NOTEBOOK 

Much has been said and a little has been written con- 
cerning the superintendent's notebook. Equally neces- 
sary and valuable is a well-kept notebook for the secre- 
tary. The difference between efficiency and ineflBciency, 
between helpfulness and harmfulness, is often explained 
by the secretary's dependence on his notes or on his mem- 
ory. There are a few individuals whose memory is so 
well trained and so constantly exercised in the proper man- 
ner that they are exempt from the notebook habit, but 
until their number is vastly increased recommendations 
concerning this much-needed adjunct to successful work 
in the secretary's department are in order. 

Where shall the secretary of the Sunday school use his 
notebook? 

In School. — ^As he goes from class to class, as he listens 
to individuals seeking information or help, as he observes 
the various devotional and special services of the school, 
as he attends the meetings of the Council and of the 
teachers, as he acts on committees, his ever-ready book 
will enable him to jot down notes, to be written out more 
fully when there is time, and to be considered carefully 
and acted upon when the proper occasion arrives. 

Moreover, a reference to the notebook will recall what 
might otherwise be forgotten, and its hints will prove at 

66 



THE SECRETARY 

times just what is necessary to throw Hght on a perplexing 
subject, to suggest the best course of action when in doubt 
or to give the information that is so helpful. 

At Home. — Of course, the sort of secretary we have in 
mind thinks of his work and plans for it outside of the 
school session as well as during the hour itself. He does 
not leave his notebook in his desk, but carries it in his 
pocket. When suggestions that may prove beneficial 
to the Sunday school flash through his mind as a result of 
prayer, of thought, of conversation, of reading or of study, 
he makes them usable by appropriate entries in his book, 
which are afterwards put into more permanent form and 
carefully consulted. 

But this is not all. From time to time the secretary 
must carefully look over his notes in order to ascertain 
whether he has made the best possible use of them. This 
rereading and reviewing of his memoranda will convince 
him that it is very easy to forget entries of value, and that 
seemingly trivial matters are of great importance when 
put into their proper places. 

Abroad. — If that superintendent is foolish who never 
finds time to visit Sunday schools other than his own, 
what shall be said of the secretary who never goes abroad 
to learn what others are doing? When he visits another 
Sunday school, when he talks to a brother secretary, when 
he attends a meeting of secretaries or other Sunday-school 
workers, the developing secretary makes notes for future 
study, verification or experiment. Business methods are 
bristling with suggestions for him who will note them 
and at the proper time adopt what is applicable to his 

67 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

work. He who runs may read, but he will soon forget 
unless he makes notes. 

If you have formed the notebook habit, examine the 
book and yourself to determine whether or not you have 
made the best use of your notes. If you have not formed 
this habit, begin at once to develop it. Keep two note- 
books for Sunday-school suggestions: a small book to be 
always at hand, in which original entries are made, and a 
larger book, in which some notes may be preserved until 
they are no longer of value. 



68 



VII 

HIS MATERIAL AND LITERATURE 

The following records are published by the Westminister 
Press: 

The Westminister Ideal Class Book contains space for 
twenty names and a record for a year. 

The Ideal Secretary's Record for Small Smiday Schools, 
by E. Morris Fergusson. This record is for schools of 
not more than ten classes. 

Tomlinson's Improved Sabbath-school Record and 
Pocket Registry. 

The Westminister Ideal Sunday-school Record. A 
record of a school of twenty-five classes for four years. 
Every department of a modern Sunday school is pro- 
vided for. WTien properly kept, all information needed 
on any occasion will be at hand. 

From time to time helpful articles on the work of the 
Sunday-school secretary appear in periodicals devoted 
to Sunday-school work. By studying the advertisements 
of these periodicals the wide-awake secretary will get 
many valuable hints. 

No secretary who wishes to make the most of himself 
can afford to fail to read Chapters III and VII of How 
to Conduct a Sunday School, by Marion Lawrance. 

"From a Superintendent's Notebook" is the title of a 
chapter in Sunday School Success, by Amos R. Wells, that 
will furnish many hints to the inquiring secretary. 

69 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

The Modern Sunday School in Principle and Practice, 
by Henry Frederick Cope, has a paragraph on each of 
the following officers: 

General Secretary. 

Corresponding Secretary. 

Enrollment Secretary. 

Division Secretaries. 

Report Cards. 

Reports and Announcements. 

How to Make the Sunday School Go, by A. T. Brewer, 
has a chapter headed "The Secretary," which is very 
suggestive. Here is one paragraph of it: "This officer 
should be a devoted Christian, punctual, tireless, affable, 
accurate, quick, sympathetic, impartial, loyal, generous, 
versatile, and he should have a faultless memory." 
Truly, this is a standard to which but few attain! 

A Model Superintendent, by H. Clay Trumbull, con- 
tains an illuminating section headed, "Among the Rec- 
ords," in which the importance of the secretary's work 
is clearly and minutely set forth. 

The Sunday School of To-day, by Dr. Wm. Walter 
Smith, devotes several pages to "The Secretarial Force." 
Dr. Smith urges the appointment of a Custodian of Sup- 
plies, a Custodian of Equipment and a Superintendent 
of Absentees. 

A Manual of Sunday-school Methods, by Dr. Addison 
Pinneo Foster, contains suggestions concerning the sec- 
retary's duties, his records and his qualifications. 

The Organized Sunday School, by J. W. Axtell, is a 
working manual for officers. The chapter on " The Secre- 
tary" shows how important this officer is, what he is to 
do for the welfare of the school and how he is to do it. 

70 



THE SECRETARY 

It contains two suggestive cuts — one depicting an attend- 
ance record; the other, an attendance chart. 

Sunday-school Records, Reports and Recognition, by E. 
A. Fox, contains much that is helpful. 

By examining these and similar books on Sunday- 
school work the secretary may test his own methods and 
receive inspiration for progressive service in behalf of 
the great cause represented by the Sunday school. 



71 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WOEK 



III 

THE TREASURER AND THE LIBRARIAN 

BT 

AMOS R. WELLS 



73 



THE TKEASUEER AND THE LIBRAEIAN 



I 

THE TREASURER 

Why is it that so often we lavish care upon the selection 
of a Sunday-school superintendent, are measurably careful 
in our choice of a secretary, but when we come to the oflfice 
of treasurer fill it with the first person that pops into our 
heads? Is this like the money-heeding, practical people 
we are supposed to be? Is it even businesshke? 

The Necessity of Care in His Selection. — ^The money 
interests of the school are very important. If the ojBBcers 
and teachers lack proper tools to work with, if they are 
kept from taking advance steps from lack of supplies, the 
fiber of the entire school will relax. If the school finances 
are allowed to fall into disorder, nothing short of scandals 
will arise. Hardly anything will so injure the reputation 
of the school as financial irregularities or even the sus- 
picion of them. For every reason it is quite necessary to 
choose for treasurer a wide-awake, earnest, competent 
and respected business man (or woman). Yet careless- 
ness in this important particular is rather the rule than 
the exception. 

This is the more surprising when we remember that the 
office of treasurer affords a rare opportunity to place a 
"plain business man" in a prominent position in the Sun- 

75 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

day school, and that usually just the right man may easily 
be persuaded to take up the congenial work. It does not 
require speech-making, but calls for just the abilities he 
possesses and exercises every day in his business. Under 
the circumstances to put a tyro into the position of treas- 
urer is a foolish blunder. 

The Requirements.— What we want, then, as Sunday- 
school treasurer is a man (or a woman) of character, of 
such standing among the business men of the church that 
he can readily obtain subscriptions from them for the 
special needs of the school. This implies, of course, that 
he is a capable manager of his own affairs, or he would not 
be regarded as fit to conduct the business of a Sunday 
school. It implies also that he has tact, vigor, persever- 
ance, orderliness, accuracy — all the fundamental qualities 
necessary for business success. It goes without saying 
that he must be absolutely honest and an out-and-out 
Christian. Dozens of men in your church answer to this 
description, and you may lay your hands upon one of 
them for treasurer, thus binding him to the interests of 
the school and winning a powerful ally. 

Magnifying His Office. — But urge your treasurer to 
magnify his office. Tell him before you elect him that 
you want no mere accountant, no mere recorder. You 
want some one who will get the money as well as set it 
down and pay it out. You want a treasurer who will be 
a vital factor in the development of the school. If his 
predecessor has not been of this type, he is not to imi- 
tate him in this respect, but he is to strike out for himself 
in new ways. In other words, urge him to consider the 

76 



• 



THE TREASURER AND THE LIBRARIAN 

Sunday school as a new business which he is to open up 
and ''make a big thing." He will appreciate such an 
enterprise far more than a namby-pamby task. 

The treasurer, on being elected, will consider first how 
much money he should raise, and for what purposes it is 
needed. To learn this he will consult the superintendent 
and his cabinet, including all the teachers. 

The Sunday-School Budget. — ^The school should have 
a regular budget, comprising its gifts to missions and other 
causes, the estimated expenditures for each department 
of the school and for the school at large, and all special 
expenditures that it may be desired to make, as for a ster- 
eopticon or a set of stereoscopes and their photographs. 

This budget will be made out with great care. If the 
treasurer has former budgets to guide him, all the better; 
but too many schools have been in the habit of feeling 
their way through the year with no financial prospectus 
to follow. 

Such a budget will constitute the treasurer's program 
of work. He will place it before the church in asking for 
money from the church treasury. He will present it to 
business men in seeking special gifts. He will use it for 
the school in determining a proper standard for their con- 
tributions. The budget will not be so large as to be dis- 
couraging and all but preclude success, and it will be 
large enough, within reason, to furnish an incentive for 
exertion and promptings to liberality. 

The Treasurer's Funds. — ^The treasurer, ordinarily, has 
three sources of supply for his treasury. The first of these 
is the church. That the church should appropriate 
money for its Sunday school would seem to need no argu- 

77 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

ment, and yet not all churches make such an appropria- 
tion, and many fail to appropriate with suflScient liberality. 
The treasurer, aided by the superintendent, should ap- 
proach the church officers, especially the church treasurer 
and Finance Committee and the leading church members, 
and endeavor to obtain for the school an appropriation 
commensurate with the means of the church and the work 
the Sunday school should be doing for the children of the 
church and the community. 

It may be necessary to urge this appropriation in some 
church meeting or before some committee, and here the 
superintendent and the treasurer may well speak for the 
school, showing what the school is doing, what more it 
could do and precisely for what purposes the money asked 
for would be expended if granted. Make an especial 
point of the necessity, if the young are to be trained in the 
art of giving, that the greater part of the school collections 
shall be given to benevolences, to the various denomina- 
tional boards and to the enterprises of the local church. 

Ask for every cent that is wanted and needed, prepare 
your plea with pains and present it with energy. Then 
accept with good grace what the church gives, making so 
fine use of it that the church will gladly give more next 
time. To this end, take pains throughout the year to 
keep the church informed, fully and interestingly, regard- 
ing the work which the school is accomplishing. 

The second source of money for the school is the sub- 
scription list or what answers to it. In any live school 
the necessity will frequently arise for special gifts, that 
special improvements may be made. These may not have 
been foreseen when the school budget was presented to 
the church; or, if they were foreseen, it may not have 

78 



THE TREASURER AND THE LIBRARIAN 

been wise to include them in the request for money that 
was presented to the church. 

Every Sunday-school treasurer should have or should 
form a list of Sunday-school supporters, friends of the 
school who are willing to prove their friendship by their 
purses. It may be thought wise to constitute these into 
a formal company, a sort of board of directors of the 
school; or, it may be best to leave the whole matter 
flexible and informal. 

In either case the school should cultivate these generous 
friends, and the treasurer may well be the one who shall 
keep them informed regarding the work of the school, 
approaching them often concerning school matters that 
do not require their financial aid, but only their sympa- 
thetic and encouraging presence. A school with such a 
set of strong backers, enlarged through the years and zeal- 
ously maintained, is well insured against failure. 

The third source of the Sunday-school money is the 
school itself, as a whole — the weekly class offerings. As 
already said, it is best for the children that these offerings, 
in the main, should be devoted to benevolent objects, 
though some especial need of the school may now and then 
be met by school collections. These benevolent objects 
should be as diversified as possible, so as to acquaint the 
pupils with many worthy objects, though not so diversi- 
fied that they will become confused and remember nothing 
clearly. Sometimes the object of the offerings may be 
changed as often as every two weeks, but usually every 
month is often enough. 

Special Objects. — ^The objects should include the Sun- 
day-school board of the denomination and its home and 

79 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

foreign mission boards, and perhaps other church boards, 
if the denominational work is more finely divided. They 
may also include local charities. They should certainly 
include any missionary or other philanthropic enterprise 
which the local church has adopted as its own. The 
Sunday-school cabinet should choose the Ust of objects 
with great care, and it is not at all necessary that it 
should be altogether the same from year to year. 

Every class will have its treasurer, who will "take up 
the collection." The school treasurer may well hold a 
meeting of these young treasurers, talk to them about 
the importance of giving to the Lord's work, and urge 
them to push the matter in their respective classes. Tell 
them, however, especially if there are in the school many 
children from poor families, that what is to be looked after 
is not so much the size of the gifts as their regularity, and 
that every member of the class should give something. 
The value of the class collection envelope system is so 
well known now that the use of it need hardly be urged. 

The Finance Committee. — ^Any treasurer will be greatly 
helped in his work by a Finance Committee, and in a large 
school this committee is almost a necessity. The Finance 
Committee will be made up of such men (and women) as 
the treasurer himself; and large givers, interested in the 
school, may be closely associated with the work by ap- 
pointment to this committee. The committee will aid 
the treasurer in obtaining special subscriptions and in 
obtaining proper sums from the church treasury. 

For the recording of these various sums the treasurer 
will provide himself with proper books, at least a daybook, 
in which to enter the money in chronological order as it is 

80 



THE TREASURER AND THE LIBRARIAN 

received and paid out, and a ledger in which to keep sepa- 
rate accounts with the various Sunday-school committees 
to whose chairmen payments are frequently made, and 
with the church treasurer, through whom, probably, the 
gifts of the school will be sent to the various objects to 
which the school contributes. It will be well also to keep 
separate accounts with the various objects of your gifts, 
so that you may turn at once to the complete record of the 
school with relation to any benevolence. 

Safeguards. — Of course the treasurer will keep his own 
money entirely separate from the money of the school, 
to a cent. Any other course is absolutely dishonest, and 
this is true no matter how small the amount may be. 
The entire sum in charge of the treasurer must be ready 
to be produced at any time, and instantly. 

For his own protection, the treasurer will insist upon a 
receipt for every cent he pays out, and these vouchers will 
be kept carefully on file. The Sunday-school constitu- 
tion should state definitely the conditions under which the 
treasurer should pay out money, and if orders from the 
superintendent or secretary are required, these orders will 
be filed with the receipts. 

Also for his own protection the treasurer will insist that 
an auditor should be appointed once a year to examine 
his accounts just before he makes his annual report to the 
school and the church, and the auditor's report will imme- 
diately follow the treasurer's. All records will be kept in 
businesslike form that will be approved by any business 
man appointed as auditor. Carelessness or ignorance 
here will condemn the school among the men who should 
be the most liberal givers to it. Especially is it necessary 

81 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

that the records should be accurate to a cent; and to this 
end the treasurer must record immediately every penny 
received or disbursed, not trusting anything to his memory 
or postponing any clerical work. 

It will add much to the reputation of the school if the 
treasurer is very prompt in paying the school debts. Re- 
ligious organizations are generally considered "slow but 
sure'^ in the matter of payments. The first half of the 
characterization is a discredit, and our treasurers should 
remove it as far as possible. Our creditors need the money 
promptly, and we should make it a point of honor to see 
that they get it. 

Making Reports.— The final item of the treasurer's 
duties is his report. He reports every Sunday the offer- 
ing of that day, with such additions as will increase in- 
terest in giving. He should report the state of the treasury 
to the Sunday-school officers often enough to keep them in- 
formed if the offerings are falling off. And once a year 
he makes a report to the Sunday school and to the church. 
The latter reports should not be so detailed as to be tire- 
some, and yet they should be full enough to give a clear 
idea of the sources of income and the principal expendi- 
tures. 

It is well to report every Sunday, for a while, the offering 
of every class. This must be done in writing, using a 
blackboard or a large sheet of manila paper. Letters 
and figures should be large enough to be read easily across 
the room. The class offerings for at least a month should 
be shown in tabular form for ready comparison and for 
stimulating interest in the offerings. 

Usually^ however, it is sufficient simply to report totals, 

82 



THE TREASURER AND THE LIBRARIAN 

for the departments or for the entire school. The totals 
for the preceding Sunday and for the corresponding Sun- 
day a year before will also be given to furnish a basis 
of comparison. 

Brightness and originahty in making these weekly 
reports will be well repaid. "Look at this!" the treasurer 
may print in red letters as preface to a poor report. 
"Fine!'' he may print below a particularly good showing. 
He may cover the figures with a strip of paper on which 
he has printed "I'm ashamed of this," and when the time 
for his report comes he may remove the paper without a 
word. He and the superintendent may stand on each 
side of the report, pointing to it silently. He may have 
the school repeat the figures after him, to impress them on 
their memory. He may have the banner class in giving 
step to the platform, and ask the school to rise in honor of 
them. Many other methods will suggest themselves as 
soon as the treasurer begins to try to brighten his report. 

But in conclusion let me emphasize what I have already 
said, that what we are seeking from the children's gifts 
is not income, but education. We want to teach them to 
give. We want to show them what to give to. We want 
to get them into the habit of giving generously and sys- 
tematically. In proportion as he accomplishes this, the 
treasurer will be a glorious success. 



83 



II 

THE LIBRARIAN 

The Ideal Librarian. — ^The ideal Sunday-school libra- 
rian is perhaps more difficult to find than even the ideal 
Sunday-school superintendent. This is not because the 
librarian must be a book-lover and well acquainted with 
books, for there are many such; but he must be able to 
inspire in others a love for books and guide them into the 
best paths of literature, and that is a rare ability. It 
implies a knowledge of human nature as well as of books; 
it implies charm and tact and ingenuity and enterprise 
and perseverance; in short, it implies all the qualities of 
the successful merchant — thorough familiarity with his 
goods and power to make folks want them. You may not 
be able to find the ideal librarian; but if not, then you must 
content yourself with the nearest available approximation 
thereto. 

I wish it might be taken for granted that the librarian 
would read all the books in the library, but I fear that this 
fundamental qualification must be insisted on. With all 
the books the librarian must be thoroughly familiar — 
books for the little folks as well as for the adults — ^if he 
is to introduce them successfully to the school. 

The Library Committee. — ^The librarian must have a 
wide range of reading outside the library, that he may not 
miss the best books for the library. In this task of selection, 
however, he must be aided by a Library Committee, which 

84 



THE TREASURER AND THE LIBRARIAN 

will be a part of the machinery of every well-ordered 
school. Men as well as women should be members of this 
committee, and at least one alert pupil for every depart- 
ment of the school, preferably a boy and a girl from each 
department. The last stage of a book's acceptance will 
be its interest for these latter. This Library Committee 
will read all the books proposed for the library, and no 
book should be accepted to which a majority of the com- 
mittee object on the ground of moral teachings or literary 
character and interest. 

Seeming the Books. — The librarian's first problem, 
especially in small schools with little money, is to get the 
books. In most cases it will be possible to persuade the 
church Finance Committee to set apart a modest sum each 
year for additions to the school library; or, if the church 
makes its appropriation in a lump sum, the school oflBcers 
may regularly set aside a sum for library increase and 
maintenance. Private gifts of money may also be sought 
if the Finance Committee of the school is willing that the 
librarian should make a little canvass for the purpose. 
Many will give books who cannot give money. The 
librarian may call for duplicates from private libraries 
and little-worn copies of books that have been read suf- 
ficiently by the owner. A book social may be held, ad- 
mission to which is a book for the library. The enter- 
tainment at this social will be bookish games, such as the 
representation of the names of famous books by articles 
worn on the clothing. All books received by private gift 
should be read by the Library Committee and passed upon 
as carefully as books obtained from the store or the pub- 
lishers. 

85 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

It is almost always possible for schools to get books at 
reduced prices. Avoid, however, the "sets" that are 
sometimes offered to libraries, bound cheaply and uni- 
formly, and containing, with some good books, many 
others of very inferior character. If such a set is bought, 
make every volume pass muster by itself. 

Money for buying new books may be obtained from a 
strictly managed system of fines for keeping books over 
time. Explain to the parents the use made of the fines 
and they will be entirely willing to pay them. Promptness 
in returning books will be encouraged by such a system, 
though the librarian may desire to encourage tardiness! 

Help from the Public Library. — Some pubHc libraries 
are now making up collections of perhaps fifty books and 
lending them to Sunday schools. The collection is made 
up on consultation with the school librarian, and, within 
certain limitations, contains just what books the latter 
may select from the public-library catalogue. The col- 
lection remains with the school for a few months, and is 
then replaced by a new one. It contains books for all 
ages, and is a most useful supplement to any hbrary. 
If any book in the collection proves especially popular, a 
copy may be purchased for the permanent library of the 
school. If books are lost or injured, they must, of course, 
be replaced by the school. If possible, in all such cases, 
the parents should pay for the books which their children 
have injured or lost. 

Book Reviews and Catalogues. — For learning about new 
books that are really worth while nothing is better than 
the reviews printed in discriminating periodicals. One 



THE TREASURER AND THE LIBRARIAN 

soon learns which reviewers to trust. It is also essential 
to obtain descriptive catalogues from all the publishers, 
and they will be glad to put the librarian upon their list 
for copies of all their announcements of new books. The 
librarian, through the church paper and in other ways, 
will invite suggestions as to books from all members of the 
church, and will receive many valuable hints if the re- 
quest is kept before the church members. 

The Books Required. — ^What kinds of books will be 
placed in the Sunday-school library? These libraries 
to-day are very different from the old-time type. They 
are far wider in their scope, much better in their literary 
quality, much finer in their influence. The modern 
Sunday-school library may include any book on any sub- 
ject that will awaken minds to the wonders of God's 
creation and furnish a stimulus to better living. Not all 
the books will be technically religious, but all will be really 
and profoundly religious. The Sunday-school library 
of my boyhood was largely fiction, and fiction of a peculiar 
"goody-goody" type that is now happily obsolete. I read 
many of the books, but I do not recall a single incident 
or character. At the same time, outside the school, 
I was reading Irving, Scott, Dickens, Thackeray, Miss 
Muloch, George Macdonald, — yes, and Miss Alcott, 
Trowbridge and "Oliver Optic," — and what I read 
"stuck." 

The Sunday-school library will contain a liberal amount 
of fiction, but fiction of the very best, calculated to inform 
the mind, quicken the imagination and exalt the charac- 
ter by unconscious emulation of heroic action. Fiction 
is pressed upon the children from so many directions, and 

87 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

it is so often corrupting and trivial, that the Sunday- 
school library will benefit them immensely if it do no more 
than introduce them to the best sort of stories. 

The Need of Biographies. — But the chief work of the 
librarian is to widen the children's interest (and often the 
interest of adults as well) from fiction out into the wide 
range of literature. To this end the library will contain 
a splendid store of biographies. Nothing is better than 
the lives of great missionaries, for these are full of the 
dash and heroism that particularly appeal to youth. But 
add the lives of great inventors, reformers, discoverers, 
statesmen, rulers — any real leaders of men. There are 
fewer volumes of history that will be read by the young, 
but they are to be found, and they are especially valuable 
for Sunday-school libraries. There are many fascinating 
books of travel which the young folks will enjoy, many 
books of popular science, many volumes of poems, many 
series of delightful essays. I am not naming specific 
books because I should not know where to stop. 

Two Dozen Books. — If I had to select two dozen books 
for a Sunday-school library I should choose two volumes 
of missionary biography, two of general biography, three 
volumes of popular science, one each of history, travel, 
poetry and essays, and thirteen volumes of fiction. I 
should not by any means select new books solely, but 
many of these should be the old and standard books that 
will always be fresh and vital. 

The Reference Library. — I have not mentioned books 
about the Bible and volumes dealing with the Sunday 



THE TREASURER AND THE LIBRARIAN 

school and its work, because these should be placed in the 
reference library, which should be a popular part of every 
school. This reference library will be under the care 
of the librarian, who will see that it is thoroughly used by 
teachers and pupils. The reference library in my own 
Sunday school is in a large bookcase in the prayer-meeting 
room, kept unlocked. Anyone may take out a book, 
merely recording the title of the book, the name of the 
borrower and the date, on a card, which is to be deposited 
in a box on a shelf. When a book is returned this card 
is torn up. 

The reference library will contain the best Bible dic- 
tionary the school can afford, the best Bible atlas or work 
on Bible geography, the best set of commentaries on the 
entire Bible, the most valuable works on Bible customs 
and travels in Bible lands. There will be a history of 
Bible times and works on the history of our English 
Bible, with accounts of excavations in Bible lands. There 
will be a goodly number of books on methods of teaching 
and the history and work of the Sunday school. Add to 
all this some special books dealing with the particular 
series of lessons the school is studying, and you will have 
a collection that the teachers can make of the greatest 
assistance, if they only will. Part of the librarian's busi- 
ness is to interest the teachers and older pupils in the ref- 
erence library by pointing out books and portions of books 
which deal helpfully with the lesson of the next Sunday. 
This may best be done in the teachers' meetings. 

Help on the Lessons. — Similarly, the librarian will 
choose books from the general library of the school that 
will be useful in connection with coming lessons. He 

89 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

may make his selection far in advance and post the Hst 
in the schoolroom, stating in connection with each book 
title for what lesson it is appropriate. The teachers will 
try to have their pupils read these books and tell about 
them in the recitations. Many of them will furnish good 
illustrations for the lessons. 

Renewing the Library. — ^Try to add a certain number 
of books to the library each year. If you exceed that num- 
ber, well; but try never to fall below it. Even a small 
addition every year means a large Hbrary before you 
know it. 

But what is to be done when the books wear out — ^when 
the bindings become shaky and the pages are torn and 
loose? 

My advice is to hold on to such books as long as possible, 
having them rebound in stout buckram and thoroughly 
mended. Their worn condition is proof that they are 
enjoyable books. Some schools give away such books 
to poorer schools, which is well, provided new copies of 
the same books are bought to take their places. We must 
remember that new pupils are all the time entering the 
school, and that the best recommendation they can have 
for a book is the advice from some older pupil to read it, 
"for it is perfectly splendid!" 

Protecting the Books. — ^The librarian should occasion- 
ally speak to the entire school about the proper way to 
handle books, showing the school dirty, dog's-eared and 
torn volumes, and, by contrast, some that have been well 
kept. Emphasize the careful handling of books as a sign 
of culture. Do not be afraid to talk to the school in large 

90 



THE TREASURER AND THE LIBRARIAN 

terms; the pupils will appreciate your addressing them 
as grown-ups and not as "just children/* 

Make a written note of the condition of each book 
before it is given out and as it is returned, so that you 
may discover which pupils handle the books roughly, 
and do a little personal work with them. You may take 
the classes containing these pupils and get their teachers 
to bring the pupils together to help you in a little "mending 
bee," in which markings shall be rubbed out and the books 
mended as well as possible. This will be a fine object 
lesson. 

Keeping the Records. — Every pupil will have his own 
library card, on which he will keep at least six numbers 
of books he desires. Opposite each number will be 
stamped the date when the book is given him, and later 
the date when the book is returned. The librarian will 
have some list of the books by number, preferably a sheet 
of pasteboard with little pockets for slips of cardboard, 
each slip bearing the number and title of a book. A 
similar sheet with pockets for slips bearing the pupils' 
names and numbers will complete the outfit. Transpose 
the slip of the borrower and that of the book, marking 
the book number on the first slip and the date on the 
second slip, and your record is complete. When the book 
is returned, simply return each slip to its original place. 
Prompt inquiry for each book as soon as it is due will 
save many a volume to the library. 

Getting the Books Read. — How shall the librarian do 
his most important work, get the pupils interested in the 
books? A printed catalogue is a great help here, espe- 

91 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

daily if below each title is a brief, attractive description 
of the book — one that will make mouths water. When 
new books are added to the library, distribute printed 
slips naming and describing them, these to be inserted in 
the catalogues. Advertise one new book a week by placing 
its name and the name of its author on the blackboard, 
with a word about it. If the school is small, allow access 
to the books before and after sessions — an invaluable cus- 
tom, giving the opportunity for that personal stimulus 
and advice which may set many a young person on the 
way to wise reading. 

A Library Meeting. — Get the help of the teachers. 
Devote a teachers' meeting to the subject, showing the 
teachers how great a help in their work the library 
may become, and advising them how to lead their pupils 
to use the library. Get also the help of the parents, 
sending them printed (or manifolded) letters about the 
school library and the pleasure and profit to be obtained 
from it. 

Class Reading Clubs.— Get the teachers to form their 
classes into reading clubs, to meet once a fortnight, for 
reading aloud some book from the library. Offer rewards 
of good books to all who will spend at least fifteen minutes 
a day for a year reading the books of the Sunday-school 
library or other books approved by the librarian, and who 
will read through in the course of the year at least twelve 
books. Offer extra rewards to the two pupils, a girl and 
a boy, whose lists are the best in quality as well as in 
quantity. The parents will be glad to contribute toward 
paying for the books given as rewards. 

92 



THE TREASURER AND THE LIBRARIAN 

Book Evenings. — Have "Sunday-school book evenings," 
in which the different departments of the school are 
brought together, one at a time, and listen to accounts 
of the books in the library that will please them and at 
the same time be best worth while. Many of these ac- 
counts will be given by pupils who have read the books. 
Now and then have a bright speaker occupy five minutes 
of the general session of the school telling in a snappy way 
about a lot of good books, handing them out on the spot to 
those that want them. The assistant librarian will take 
the names of the borrowers. 

Class Librarian. — Appoint a librarian in each class to 
push in that class the reading of good books. Hold meet- 
ings of these young librarians now and then, to tell them 
about the library books that will interest their classes, 
and discuss means of bringing these books to the attention 
of their friends. These class librarians may become 
your very best aids in the introduction of books. 

The Librarian's Opportunity. — I realize that I have been 
laying out considerable work for the Sunday-school libra- 
rian, but I also realize the tremendous possibilities of his 
work. He comes closer to the young people than the 
public librarian. He can reach many boys and girls 
whose homes have no bookish atmosphere. He can 
plant a love for good books in many young lives, and 
this love will be not only a lasting joy to them, but will 
lead them to a perpetual source of wisdom and strength. 



93 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 



IV 
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL GRADED 

BT 

Rev. a. H. McKINNEY, Ph.D. 



95 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL GRADED 



I 

WHY? 



The objections to grading a Sunday school are generally 
made by those who do not understand the reasons for the 
grading, or by those who do not know how to grade. 
It is for the former class that the following suggestions are 
given. In considering the matter of grading, five elements 
must be noted: 

Personality. — In the personality of the pupils we find 
the chief reason for grading. The ideal method of in- 
struction would be to have each pupil trained according 
to his personal characteristics and aptitudes. This, of 
course, is impossible. The next best method is to grade 
individuals so that the very greatest amount of attention 
may be paid to the personality of those who form each 
group. A boy is, in a certain sense, the same person for 
years; in another sense, he is not the same personality at 
nine years of age that he was at six. The boy of thirteen 
is quite different from what he was at nine years of age 
and from what he will be at seventeen. Hence, the 
marked results of the study of children and youth have 
dictated that they be graded according to their person- 
alities. The first and, for the present purpose, the most 
practicable basis of grading is according to age. Where, 
however, there is material enough to grade more closely, 

97 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

the personality of each individual may be taken into 
account in forming classes, and those most nearly alike 
grouped together. 

Instruction. — ^It is true that the Bible is suited for all 
ages and conditions. It is not true, however, that all 
the Bible is suited for persons of a given age. There is 
much in the Bible, for example, that children of six years 
of age cannot and need not understand. It is true, also, 
that something for everyone may be found in every 
selection from the Scriptures assigned as a lesson; but what 
ought to be presented to given classes or departments will 
depend on many things. The teacher who gives the in- 
struction that is most needed and helpful is the one who 
can suit that instruction to the capabilities of the largest 
number in her class. If, for example, a teacher has to 
instruct pupils varying in age from six to twelve, her task 
is much more difficult than if she were to present the lesson 
truths to pupils whose ages range from six to eight. Hence, 
the character of the instruction that ought to be given in 
the Sunday school demands grading. 

Progress. — Over and over again has been repeated the 
cry: When young people apply for admission to the 
Church, in most cases, they have very hazy notions of 
Scriptural truth. Why? Not because they have not been 
instructed, not because they have not had faithful teachers 
who have earnestly desired to impart the truth. Why, 
then? Because, in most instances, the instruction given 
has been of a hazy, nebulous character; in other words, 
there has not been a systematic progression in facts im- 
parted and truths enforced. This is due, in some cases, 

98 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL GRADED 

to the employment of unskilled teachers in the Sunday 
school, and in other instances, to the fact that the teacher 
does as well as he can considering the variety in the pupils 
he is trying to instruct. That there may be systematic 
instruction in Biblical facts and truths, and that there 
may be a progression in the acquirement and understand- 
ing thereof by the pupils, there must be grading. When 
our Sunday schools are graded, both as to instructors and 
learners, church officials will not be so much astonished 
as at present concerning the lack of Biblical knowledge on 
the part of candidates for admission to the Church. 

Fruitage. — ^We are learning very many important les- 
sons from the farmer and horticulturist. The fruitage 
obtained as the result of understanding the nature of the 
harvest desired is amazing. That there is an increasing 
amount of fruitage as the result of Sunday-school instruc- 
tion is evident. That this amount will be increased in 
the ratio of the proper grading of the Sunday school is 
believed by very many. God made the boy. God has 
ordained certain laws of the boy's spiritual as well as phys- 
ical nature. Is it not reasonable to suppose that the 
Holy Spirit is going to bless that one who works in har- 
mony with God's laws rather than the one who disregards 
them? As the laws of the pupil's nature are apprehended 
and he is instructed in accordance therewith, we may look 
for greater spiritual results. The possibility of getting 
these results is largely increased where the proper kind of 
grading has been done. For the sake of the boy's temporal 
welfare, as well as for his eternal good, the school of which 
he is a member should be graded. This is true also of 
the girl and of the adult. 

99 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

Attendance. — An old notion that pupils did not respond 
readily to a system of grading and consequent promotion 
has been exploded. In those schools which are carried 
on along the proper lines of grading there is always some- 
thing to which the pupil may look forward and which may 
be held up to him as an incentive. When he finishes the 
work of one grade he is to be promoted into the next 
grade. This promotion is an honor which he appreciates 
and to which he looks forward. Hence, not only is the 
attendance of younger pupils larger and more regular in 
these schools which are graded than in others, but the 
pupils are kept longer in the school because of that to 
which they look forward. 

A rigid investigation of many cases has revealed the fact 
that it was the teacher rather than the pupil who stood 
in the way of the latter's promotion into the grade in which 
he should be. Hence, it is confidently believed that when 
the conscientious teacher understands the reason for 
grading, his objections thereto will disappear, for he will 
realize their foolishness. 



100 



II 

WHAT? 

What is a graded Sunday school will depend in a very 
large degree upon the numbers therein. There is no school 
that cannot be graded. A small school will of necessity 
have fewer departments than a large one. The larger 
Sunday schools will vary in their classification, for it needs 
no argument to prove that a school of a thousand can be 
graded much better than one of two hundred members. 
There are three respects at least in which a school may 
be graded, namely, in reference to: 

The Curriculum. — ^The very first thing to be decided 
in grading a Sunday school is the curriculum to be pursued. 
In schools where the International Uniform Lessons are 
used there should be supplemental work according to 
which the school should be graded, so far as the subject 
matter to be taught is concerned. 

There is a rapidly increasing number of schools which 
use the Graded Series of The International Sunday- 
school Lessons. This series affords a complete graded 
curriculum. 

Some schools use this graded series for the classes of 
the Elementary Division and the Uniform lessons for 
all classes above the Junior Department. This gives 
a partially graded curriculum. 

101 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

The Teachers. — In these days of specialization much 
attention is paid to the teachers employed in the various 
grades. The study of the characteristics of children, 
adolescents and adults has led to an appreciation of the 
fact that a teacher can do splendid work in instructing 
pupils of one age who would be a failure in the endeavor 
to be the leader of a class of another age; hence, in an in- 
creasing measure, attention is paid to the teacher selected 
for a certain grade or department of the school. In the 
degree that this selection is wisely made, does the school 
live up to its proper function, which is teaching the Word 
of God for the purpose of bringing souls to Christ and of 
building up souls in Christ. (See page 115, ff.) 

The Pupils. — ^The grading of the school is for the sake 
of those instructed therein. One supreme consideration 
should overrule all others; namely. How may the mem- 
bers of this school receive the most benefit? This prin- 
ciple, ever kept in mind, will help in the determining of 
methods of grading and in the adoption of rules therefor. 

On what bases should pupils be graded? is an important 
question. The answer may be given thus: 

1. Age. — ^The most natural basis of division is the age 
of the pupil. While it is true that pupils of the same age 
differ, it is equally true that there are certain fundamental 
characteristics that may be predicated of children of about 
the same age. These characteristics determine, in a large 
degree, the kind of instruction that will be most helpful. 
Hence, in grading a school, the first endeavor should be 
to ascertain the ages of the pupils who are members 
thereof. 

2. Attainments. — Where it is possible to grade with 

102 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL GRADED 

greater exactness than that afforded by the difference 
in the ages of the pupils, the second consideration should 
be the endeavor to answer this question: What are the 
attainments of the various pupils coming within a given 
age limit? For example, from nine to tw^elve are the ages 
of pupils usually assigned to the Junior Department. 
If, as is frequently the case, that department is large 
enough to admit of its being subdivided into classes, the 
attainments of the pupils should be carefully considered 
when the subdivision is made. 

3. Capabilities. — ^Two pupilsof the same age and of the 
same attainments will differ in regard to their capabihties. 
One will learn much more readily than the other or, pos- 
sibly, will retain much more of what is taught. Where the 
number of pupils is large enough to admit of it, this char- 
acteristic should be taken into account, and the division 
into classes governed not only by the age and attainments 
of the pupils but also by their ability to receive and re- 
tain what is taught. 

Exceptions. — It must never be forgotten that there 
are exceptions to all rules. In dealing with human nature 
the exceptions must always be considered even if rules 
are to be broken. In a large school, well graded, there 
was a girl who, because of poverty in the home, was 
obliged to begin work at a very early age. Her educational 
advantages had been so limited that she was unable to 
read correctly. She had, however, a good spirit and was 
anxious to learn. An exception was made in her case 
and she w^as promoted from department to department 
without any regard to her reading ability. The superin- 
tendent of the school, knowing the girl's lack, selected 

103 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

teachers who would treat her tenderly and whom he asked 
to cover up her deficiency. In this way she was advanced 
from grade to grade with very few in the school knowing 
that she could not read. 

A class of boys was once promoted from the Junior 
Department into the Intermediate. They were of about 
the same age. Two of them developed very slowly phys- 
ically. One of them grew so fast that in two years he 
seemed almost a giant in contrast to the two small lads. 
The other three members developed at a normal rate. 
Soon the big fellow became conspicuous in his class. It 
was noticed that he was restless and uneasy. Observation 
on the part of one accustomed to study boys led to the 
conclusion that he felt out of place with the two little 
fellows in his class and the three who were of normal size. 
A confidential chat with him one day led him to reveal his 
feelings, which were in accord with the suspicions of the 
observer. It did not take long to transfer him to a class 
of boys older than himself, but about his own size. Here 
he was happy, and the change doubtless kept him from 
leaving the school. 

Another boy grew physically at a normal rate, but his 
intellectual development was retarded. It became a 
serious question what to do with him. If he were pro- 
moted with boys of his own age he would so feel his back- 
wardness that he would be humiliated. After consulta- 
tion with his mother the authorities of the school decided 
that an exception be made in his case, and he was retained 
among pupils of about his own capabilities until the time 
came when he could be made useful in connection with 
the work of the school, in a position which did not require 
any great mental ability. 

104 



Ill 

HOW? 

''Make haste slowly." Nowhere, perhaps, more than 
in the grading of a Sunday school should this well-worn 
motto be appHed. Many conscientious workers have 
been offended, pupils have been driven away from the 
school and, in some cases, a general demoralization has 
resulted because of unwise haste in the attempt to do an 
excellent thing which was not fully understood by those 
for whose benefit it was planned. Here nothing is gained 
by haste; much may be lost. The following suggestions 
are made for those who wish to know what steps are nec- 
essary in the grading of a school which is altogether or 
partially ungraded: 

Decide. — Decide just what is to be done. No two 
schools are exactly alike; in no two schools do exactly the 
same conditions exist. While the general scheme of grad- 
ing remains the same, the particulars connected with plans 
and methods will vary according to the school. At first 
a very small committee should take the matter in hand, 
go over the ground very carefully and then decide just 
what is to be done. 

Explain. — Explain to those concerned what is pro- 
posed to be done. After the committee have satisfied 
themselves as to the wisdon of the course they are about 
to advocate, there should be a meeting of the oflBcers of 

105 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

the school for the purpose of getting their criticisms 
of the plan. These should be carefully considered, and 
any difficulties likely to arise should be provided for in 
the plan suggested. After the wisdom of the officers 
has been made use of in modifying the methods proposed 
there should be a meeting of the teachers. Carefully and 
patiently the details of the proposed grading should be 
laid before the teachers, and they should be asked to give 
their opinion of what is to be done. Should any serious 
objections be offered, they should be carefully considered. 
Should any vital defects be pointed out, they should be 
remedied. All this, of course, takes time, but it will be 
time well expended. 

Cooperation. — Obtain the cooperation of all concerned. 
The more careful the explanation given of what is 
about to be done, the greater the probabilities of secur- 
ing the cooperation of those who are to be affected by 
what is proposed. The attention paid to the objections 
made, or suggestions offered, by the teachers, will deter- 
mine, in a large degree, the amount of cooperation that 
may be expected from them. 

Parents' Cooperation. — Officers, teachers and parents 
of the pupils should all be ready to cooperate in making 
the proposed grading a great success. Perhaps the most 
difficult class of persons to deal with will be the parents. 
They know that their children are attached to certain 
teachers; they do not know that what is proposed is for 
the benefit of their children; therefore, imagining that 
some hurt is to come to the latter, they are inclined to 
object to any plan which will separate them from their 

106 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL GRADED 

present teachers. A sermon preached by the pastor, fol- 
lowed by a gathering of as many parents as can be induced 
to attend a meeting called for the purpose of explaining 
just what is about to be done, would result in the hearty 
cooperation of many who, because of their failure to 
understand what is in the minds of the officers of the school, 
might refuse to cooperate. 

Nothing should be said directly to the pupils concerning 
grading until the plans therefor are well worked out, and 
the cooperation of as many of their elders as possible 
has been secured. 

Gradual Progress. — Proceed by degrees. It Is not nec- 
essary to revolutionize the whole school. The children 
under the age of thirteen may be graded at first, thus 
forming an elementary division. Attention may then 
be paid to the Intermediate Department, and by degrees 
the plans worked up into the Senior and Adult depart- 
ments. 

Should any class or department seriously object to the 
grading, it may be omitted from the general scheme. 
In time the benefits accruing from grading will bring this 
dissatisfied section into line with the others. 

Correcting Mistakes. — Be willing to rectify mistakes. 
It goes without saying that where a number of persons 
is concerned and where plans affecting many are put 
into operation, there will be mistakes. It is not nearly 
so grievous to make a mistake as to be imwilling to rec- 
ognize it and acknowledge it when it is made. The 
Superintendent's Council or some other authorized body 
of representative workers of the school should be con- 

107 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

stantly on the alert to discover flaws in the plan of grading 
and to rectify all mistakes made. The manly acknowl- 
edgment of a mistake on the part of an officer in the school 
will do much to inspire confidence on the part of the pupils 
in the purpose of the one who acknowledges the mistake. 
Little by little the plans may be perfected. Little by 
little the machinery of grading may be so regulated that 
it will go on with the minimum of friction and, therefore, 
with the maximum of good results. 

Persistence. — Keep the school graded. Many schools 
have been graded for a short while and then have lapsed 
into slipshod methods, resulting in the undoing of much 
of the good accompHshed. There should be an eternal 
vigilance exercised by the officials of the school to keep it 
on a high plane of grading. (See page 120, ff.) 



108 



IV 

A GRADED SCHOOL 

Having settled the preliminary questions as to the prin- 
ciples which should guide in the grading of the school, let 
us now consider the ideally graded school. It should 
consist of the following departments: 

Cradle Roll. — Upon the Cradle Roll should be inscribed 
the names of all those children, who are and who ought 
to be identified with the Church, too young to attend 
Sunday school. Some of the first missionary efforts of 
the school are in connection with the work of getting 
candidates for the Cradle Roll. Upon it have been entered 
the names of children whose parents rarely thought of 
church or Sunday school until they were touched with 
the recognition of their little ones shown by Sunday- 
school workers. In the regularly organized Sunday school 
the Cradle Roll is as much a department as is the Primary 
or the Adult. 

Beginners. — When the child is able to come to Sunday 
school he enters the Beginners Department, which is 
composed of little tots under six years of age. For this 
department especial provision is made wherever possible. 
It meets in a room by itself, with its own superintendent, 
who is assisted by as many helpers as the needs of the 
department require. For it the International Lesson 
Committee has issued a special series of lessons, outlined 

109 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

with a view of giving instruction to the little ones on the 
plane of their intelligence and receptivity. 

Primary. — From the Beginners Department the pupil 
is advanced into the Primary, which usually is composed 
of children from six to nine years of age. There is, per- 
haps, no department of the Sunday school to which more 
attention has been paid than to the Primary. The result 
of long years of labor on the part of Sunday-school leaders 
has been the betterment of the instruction given in the 
Primary Department, so that to-day this department 
in most schools holds the palm for excellent methods. 

Advanced Primary. — In some large schools, where the 
material is abundant and the architectural facilities admit 
of it, the children are promoted at about eight years of 
age from the Primary to the Advanced Primary, in which 
they remain until they are ten. In more than one school 
where this grading has taken place it has relieved the 
difficulty that so often arises of interesting the older pupils 
of the Primary Department, and at the same time giving 
the younger ones their due portion of instruction. 

Junior. — ^This is the department that at the present 
time is receiving most attention, for it is clearly recog- 
nized that the pupils from nine or ten to twelve years of 
age, of which this department ought to be composed, are 
passing through a period of development when much may 
be done with them and during which they ought to be 
prepared for the trying times of adolescence. Where 
there is no Advanced Primary, the pupils are transferred 
from the Primary into the Junior Department at nine 

110 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL GRADED 

years of age and remain there until they are twelve. 
Where there is an Advanced Primary, the pupils are trans- 
ferred therefrom into the Junior Department at ten years 
of age. 

Intermediate. — ^The departments mentioned in the fore- 
going paragraphs are ordinarily grouped as the Elemen- 
tary Division of the Sunday school; the Intermediate 
Department is commonly known as the main school. 
According to proper methods of classification, this depart- 
ment should consist of pupils from thirteen to sixteen 
years of age. Where possible, subdivisions according to 
attainments and capabilities should be made, for the in- 
termediate or early adolescent period is a very critical 
one, during which the young people are very apt to with- 
draw from the Sunday school because they think it rather 
a small affair for such great personages as they are. At 
the same time it must be remembered that the "gang 
instinct" is very strong at this period; where it exists 
in a class it must be very carefully considered before any 
attempt is made to transfer members from or into that 
class. The prevalence of this instinct at this particular 
time necessitates those exceptions which must be made 
in applying all principles. Recently a class of boys 
refused to admit a stranger into their number because 
he did not belong to their ''bunch," as they expressed it. 

Senior. — ^The Senior Department should consist of 
young people from seventeen to twenty years of age. 
This covers the periods of middle and later adolescence. 
It has been found that this department flourishes best 
where the classes are organized, and the members assume 

111 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

the responsibility of recruiting and maintenance. Hence, 
wherever possible, every senior class should have a room 
by itself and should have its own oflBcers as well as 
teacher. 

According to the grading of the International Sunday 
School Association the Intermediate Department and 
the Senior Department together form the Secondary Di- 
vision of the Sunday school. 

Adult. — ^This department includes those over twenty 
years of age. Marvelous progress is now being made in 
the organization and development of this department, es- 
pecially in connection with Organized Adult Bible Classes. 
There is no age for graduation, for the theory is that a 
person ought to begin attending Sunday school as soon as 
he is able to come to the Beginners Class and should 
remain a member thereof until unable to attend its 
sessions. 

Home. — 'No school is complete without its Home De- 
partment, for there are in every community persons of all 
ages who, because of infirmity, illness, occupation, etc., 
are kept from attending the sessions of the school. These 
should be enrolled as members of the Home Department, 
which should be considered just as truly a department 
of the school as the Primary or Intermediate, and the 
members of which should have a right to all the privileges 
enjoyed by other members of the school. There should 
be regular transfers from the Home Department to other 
departments of the school and from these departments 
to the Home Department. 

112 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL GRADED 

Teacher Training. — In every Sunday school, as a part 
of the Senior Department or as a separate department, 
there should be a class or classes in which is given definite 
instruction for the purpose of training pupils to become 
teachers. The ideal teacher-training class is composed 
of young people from seventeen to twenty-one years of 
age. There may be as many teacher-training classes as 
the size of the school affords. 

For the Small School.— It is realized that in small 
schools the minute divisions suggested cannot obtain for 
lack of material. The small school, however, can have 
at least three grades: 

1. Elementary. — This should be composed of children 
under thirteen years of age, and, if possible, should be 
divided into classes along the age divisions suggested. 

2. Secondary. — ^This should be composed of pupils 
between the ages of thirteen and twenty, and should, 
whenever possible, be divided into classes according to 
age and sex. 

3. Adult. — Into this department should be put all over 
twenty, and, if possible, it should be organized as one 
large class. 

The International Sunday School Association has 
adopted the following scheme of grading: 

Cradle Roll 

All under 3 years of age. 
Beginners Department 
ELEMENTARY J 3, 4 and 5 years old. 

DIVISION 1 Primary Department 

6, 7 and 8 years old. 
Junior Department 

9, 10, 11 and 12 years old. 

113 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORE 



SECONDARY 
DIVISION 



ADULT 
DIVISION 



' Intermediate Department 

13, 14, 15 and 16 years old. 
Senior Department 

17, 18, 19 and 20 years old. 

r Adult Department 

All over 20 years old. This department 
includes the Adult Organized Bible Classes. 
Home Department 

Including all above Cradle Roll age who, 
for any reason, cannot attend Sunday 
school. 



The teacher-training class or classes may belong to 
either the Secondary Division or the Adult Division, ac- 
cording to the ages of the students. 

Many schools now have a Sunday-school missionary 
organization, whose chief aim is to secure graded mis- 
sionary instruction in the Sunday school. Some schools 
have a temperance organization, whose duties include the 
securing of graded temperance instruction in the Sunday 
school and the advancing of the cause of temperance. 



114 



GRADED TEACHERS 

During the past twenty years much attention has been 
paid to the characteristics of those who form the mem- 
bership of om* Sunday schools. The results of this study 
have led to the adoption of certain principles in the assign- 
ing of teachers to the various grades. Further study and 
a better understanding of human nature may require 
changes as the days go by. For the present, at least, the 
following suggestions may be made concerning the teachers 
for the various departments: 

Beginners. — The leader of this department is generally 
a woman. She ought to be active in body, with vivid im- 
agination and fertility of resources in dealing with little 
ones. There are two things that she should love in addi- 
tion to her Saviour, namely, children and music. Unless 
the teacher of the little folks has a real love for them, her 
work will be superficial. Her love for music will be a 
great help. 

Primary. — ^The teacher of this grade should be much 
like the one described in the foregoing paragraph. The 
question has often been debated as to whether the 
leader of this department should be male or female. 
Ordinarily it is the latter, but the writer has known of 
cases where great success has followed the efforts of a 
man in his endeavors to lead and instruct the children 

115 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

of the Primary Department. Again, the question of age 
has been discussed. One of the youngest teachers the 
writer ever encountered was a lady sixty-five years old, 
but she was so young in spirit that she could sympa- 
thize and keep in touch with her pupils. The point to 
be remembered is that the successful worker in the Pri- 
mary Department must view things not from the plane of 
the adult, but along the lines of the everyday life of the 
pupils. 

Junior. — Here, again, the leader of the department is 
usually a woman, but sometimes a man. This one needs 
also the characteristics of the teacher of Beginners or 
Primaries with a few added. Her pupils are growing. 
She should know not only what they now are but also 
what they are soon to be. Her work is twofold: first, 
instructing her pupils and training them so that they will 
show the results of her instruction in everyday life where 
they now are; second, preparing them for the storm and 
stress of the adolescent period into which they are soon to 
enter. Here, more than anywhere else, should there be 
breadth of study of the characteristics of the pupils. 
Hence, the leader of the Junior Department needs to know 
much of child nature and the nature of the young adoles- 
cent. 

Intermediate. — Everything considered, the highest 
good will be conserved and the best ends attained by 
separating the sexes in the Intermediate Department. 
The boys twelve to sixteen should be in classes by them- 
selves; the girls in their own classes. Ordinarily, the 
teacher should be of the same sex as the pupils. The 

116 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL GRADED 

boys should have a young man teacher; the girls, a young 
woman teacher. The word "young" is used relatively. 
The meaning is: the teacher should be young in heart 
and in methods, able to appreciate the condition of the 
pupils as they now are. There are many reasons, physical 
as well as psychological, why a boy of thirteen ought to be 
under the direction of a manly man, and why his sister 
of fifteen should be blessed with the mothering of a wom- 
anly woman. 

Senior.— The sex of the teacher is not so important 
after the pupils have passed through the early adoles- 
cent period. The writer prefers a male teacher for young 
men and a female teacher for young women. There 
are, however, many cases where young women do excellent 
work with young men classes and vice versa. The main 
point to be borne in mind is: In this period of their devel- 
opment the pupils are going through questionings and 
doubtings. They need then, most of all, a teacher who 
is deeply spiritual on the one hand and highly intellectual 
on the other; one who will sympathize with them in their 
questionings and doubts, and instead of dogmatically 
insisting that they accept certain truths, will be with 
them a fellow student in the endeavor to reach those con- 
clusions which will satisfy the doubting heart that still 
wants to believe. The very worst teacher for these 
young people is some old saint, who has settled to his own 
satisfaction all theological and dogmatic questions and is 
impatient with those who cannot accept his conclusions. 

Adult. — ^The members of the Adult Bible Class have, 
for the most part, passed through their period of doubt 

117 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

and are now face to face with the reaHties of life. They 
need, most of all, teaching from which they can get in- 
spiration and comfort for their everyday living. Their 
teacher, therefore, should be a person — ^whether male or 
female is of little account — ^who will bring the truths of the 
Bible to bear upon their daily perplexities and problems. 
One of the most remarkable facts connected with the 
Bible is that it is the book for to-day. He or she will be a 
successful teacher of adults who is able to get from it 
those things which are needed in our rushing life of the 
present time. 

Teacher-training Students.— Many schools fail to have 
a teacher-training class because, as their officers claim, 
it is impossible to find a teacher therefor. Perhaps the 
mistake has been made of supposing that the teacher of 
this class must be an expert in normal methods, well 
versed in psychology, pedagogy and Biblical learning. 
The very first requisite for the leader of this class is an 
appreciation of the value of the work to be done. The 
second is a willingness to keep a little ahead of the mem- 
bers of the class. One who is too learned will discourage 
the pupils of an average class. One who is willing to be 
a fellow student with them may render excellent service. 

Promotions. — Shall teachers be promoted with their 
pupils in a graded school? This question requires careful 
consideration and cannot be answered lightly. A teacher 
who remains in a given department, say the Junior, by 
degrees masters the difficulties connected with the work 
of that department and comes to know thoroughly the 
characteristics of the pupils thereof. Hence, it is much 

118 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL GRADED 

better for this teacher to remain in this department than 
to go forward with the pupils, who are changing all the 
time. What is true of the Junior is true also of other 
departments. Hence, the principle is: Teachers should 
be promoted within departments, but not from one de- 
partment to another. Occasionally there may be an ex- 
ception to this rule. 



119 



VI 

SPECIALIZED WORK 

There are two evils connected with many Sunday- 
schools that must be very seriously considered and earn- 
estly combated. In the first place, a few workers have too 
many things put upon them. If a person is at all willing 
to work in the Sunday school, the tendency is so to load 
up that one with a variety of duties that he or she is over- 
burdened so that nothing is well done. The remedy 
for this evil is to give individuals especial duties to per- 
form, and, by refraining from imposing upon them other 
work, let them become experts in their particular line. 
The other evil is the craze for numbers. It would seem 
that much of our Sunday-school work is tested by the 
numbers on the roll. In some places a step in advance 
is taken and the numbers in actual attendance are taken 
as the criterion of success. This is all wrong. Better 
have a school of fifty members doing good work than one 
of a hundred carried on according to slipshod methods; 
if the school of one thousand is simply a mob, better get 
it down to five hundred and have a working school. In 
order to remedy both these evils workers must be selected 
for their especial qualifications for certain lines of duty, 
and they must seriously consider the problem of the better- 
ment of the school irrespective of the numbers therein. 

The Correlator. — ^The time is coming when the well- 
graded school, be it large or small, will have one person 
whose principal business will be to correlate the work 

120 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL GRADED 

of the various departments of the school and even of the 
various individuals therein. This person need not neces- 
sarily be the superintendent, who, in a fair-sized or large- 
sized school, has ordinarily so many details to look after 
that the work of correlation should be given to one who 
makes an especial study of how it should be done. This 
one, however, should not work independently of, but as an 
assistant to, the superintendent. He should occupy such 
a vantage ground that he understands the w^orking of the 
school as a whole from top to bottom. This understand- 
ing can be gained only by a study of the separate depart- 
ments of the school as they are actually in operation, and 
by careful planning as to how these departments should 
be correlated one to another. At first, the correlator will 
necessarily make some mistakes, but as he gives time, 
thought and prayer to his particular work, he will become 
more and more expert and know better what ought to be 
done. 

Superintendent of Admissions and Transfers. — ^Work- 
ing in close harmony with, and under the direction of, 
the superintendent and the correlator should be a person 
whose especial business is to make all admissions to the 
school, place all newcomers in classes, and, at the desig- 
nated time, make all transfers and promotions. The 
mere mention of the duties of such a person would raise a 
storm of indignation in many schools, for the practice 
quite generally prevails of anybody's and everybody's ad- 
mitting candidates to the school, not according to any 
fixed principles, but to suit the wishes of the parties con- 
cerned. This is one of the reasons why it is so difficult 
to grade a school and much more difficult to keep it graded. 

121 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

When a person applies for admission to the school, that 
one should be brought to the superintendent of admission, 
who will, so far as possible, conform to the wishes of the 
applicant as to the class to which he is to be assigned, but 
who will also make no assignment that will be contrary 
to the principles of grading adopted for the school. 

Secretaries. — ^The number of secretaries in a school will 
necessarily vary according to its size. There should be, 
however, one secretary whose duties are well defined. 
His business should be to make a careful record of the 
pupils in the school and to keep carefully the record of 
their attendance; especially should it be recorded how a 
person is transferred from department to department 
throughout the school. In other words, there should be a 
complete record of any given individual from the time he 
enters the school until he departs therefrom. This will 
be complete only when the cause of his departure is noted 
and also the place to which he goes. Such careful work 
on the part of some one in the school would do much to 
hold to the school the pupils who belong there, while it 
would help do away with the vicious system that prevails 
in many quarters of pupils' going from schoool to school 
to suit their own convenience. Of course, under this sys- 
tem a pupil who tries to be a member of two or three 
schools at the same time would have little success. The 
enrollment of a pupil's name in two classes of the school 
at the same time would be an impossibility; yet such things 
are frequent under the present system. 

The Superintendent's Council. — ^To a select few of the 
ojfficers of the school, who have the time and willingness to 

122 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL GRADED 

consult with the superintendent, the correlator and the 
superintendent of admissions and transfers, should be 
delegated the work of planning for the conduct of the 
school. Nothing should be done without careful consid- 
eration by this Council. In any case where doubt exists 
as to the practicality of a method, it should be viewed 
from all standpoints before being adopted; after its adop- 
tion, it should be carefully watched in order to ascertain 
its effects. If found to be without value to the school, 
it should be changed. 

Teachers* Meeting. — Before any plan is put into opera- 
tion it should be considered by the teachers gathered in 
meeting, so that an enthusiastic cooperation may be se- 
cured on the part of at least a majority of the workers in 
the school. Once a plan is adopted, it should be carried 
out until it is found to be impracticable; then it should 
be changed. 

Unhampered Worko — ^The duties of the various special 
workers in the school being clearly understood and recog- 
nized, they should be unhampered in their work. For 
example, no one, not even the pastor or the superintendent, 
should interfere with the work of the superintendent of 
admissions. If that person is making mistakes he should 
be reasoned with and his mistakes pointed out, but his 
work interfered with — ^never. When such a course of 
action is consistently carried out everyone will come to 
recognize it as a proper thing, and the complaints and 
loss of time, which are so common now on account of 
interference of one worker with another, will cease. 



123 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WOEK 



V 

THE GRADED LESSONS 

BT 

Rev. E. morris FERGUSSON 



125 



THE GRADED LESSONS 



INTRODUCTORY 

In addition to the other things that a Sunday school is 
or may be made to be, it is a school. In its capacity as a 
school it must teach. In order that its teaching may be 
systematic, orderly and purposeful it must have lessons 
prepared and specified as a guide to its teaching. 

The problem of lesson choosing has always been fore- 
most among the many problems of Sunday-school work, 
though for the last forty years most of us have been con- 
tent to have the International Lesson Committee take it 
off our hands by giving us the selections of the Uniform 
Lesson Series. It has always been a problem, neverthe- 
less; and many conscientious workers have attacked it for 
their schools, either by working out lessons of their own 
or by investigating and possibly introducing the Blakes- 
lee or some other non-International proposition. Since 
1902 separate lessons for at least the Beginners Department 
have been available under International auspices. Since 
October, 1909, a completely graded International course 
of lessons has been, in regular progression, provided for 
the use of all Sunday schools; and there are other courses, 
at least two of which also furnish one course each for every 
possible grade of the Sunday school, with various elective 
courses for adult classes. Grading and graded lessons 

127 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

are in the air. The problem of lesson choosing is upon us, 
whether we will or no. 

These chapters are for the Sunday-school leader who, 
having fairly faced this great problem, has resolved, with 
more or less of cooperation and support from his fellow 
workers, to introduce the new International Graded 
Sunday-school Lessons as they have been pubhshed by the 
Sunday-school board of his church; or who, having pre- 
viously so resolved, is now wresthng with the many prac- 
tical difficulties involved in the successful installation of 
the system. This Sunday school, being a "Sunday school 
at work," is working on the lesson problem with zeal at 
least equal to that which it bestows on the various other 
lines of effort set forth in this book. It accepts the prin- 
ciple of lesson adaptation to pupils' needs, and is trying 
or about to try the International Graded Lessons as the 
printed machinery for securing such adaptation. 

Throughout these chapters it is assumed that the reader 
has already procured for himself the prospectus and sam- 
ple pages of the graded lessons, with the lesson outlines 
and explanatory pamphlets accompanying them, all of 
which the publishers will send free to every inquirer; that 
he has, in addition, secured one or more sample sets of 
teachers' and pupils' textbooks, first part, of the depart- 
ments he is especially interested in, and that he has given 
these documents serious and sympathetic study, with 
special reference to the aims of the course, the ways by 
which these aims are sought and the reasons for following 
these ways rathe'* than those hitherto relied on. 



128 



II 

MISCONCEPTIONS 

It may be that the hesitation of a school to take hold 
of these graded lessons as soon as they were put on the 
market has resulted from some misconception as to their 
character and working, or as to the kind of Sunday schools 
for which they are adapted. The section on 'The 
Sunday School Graded," by Dr. McKinney, has already 
answered some of these. Let us, in addition to what is 
there said, observe just what a graded Sunday school is, 
and then take up some of these possible misconceptions 
for reply 

Why Grades? — A graded Sunday school is a Sunday 
school in which the work is arranged in a series of grades 
or steps. It is the work of the school that is graded: 
the pupils are graded in order that they may receive this 
work; the teachers, in order that they may do it; the lessons, 
in order that they may outline and guide it. Any Sunday 
school is a graded Sunday school that does graded work. 
The old-fashioned *'main room" of the Sunday school 
did continuous work, and the lessons were the same for 
all. Grading is putting in the steps. 

A grade, therefore, in Sunday-school work is one unit of 
work of the school with reference to certain pupils. The 
standard unit for day schools, and the most convenient 
also for the Sunday school, is one year. The child's own 

129 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

consciousness has so much to do with the success of all 
school work that we must think in terms of his experience 
in this as in all Sunday-school matters. Four years is, 
indeed, a long span of life, but birthdays come each year. 
The day-school and the Sunday-school life commingle in 
his thoughts. The Sunday-school work should run by the 
year, as his life does; and the year should begin in the fall, 
as his day-school year does. The International graded 
lessons, accordingly, are graded by years; and each year 
begins on the first Sunday in October and contains fifty- 
two numbered lessons, ending with Lesson 52 on the last 
Sunday in September. 

The Aim of a Graded School.— The aim of a graded 
Sunday school is to lead every pupil, in each year of his 
life, through that course of instruction and self-expression 
which will best Gt the needs of his soul for that year. We 
cannot predict that a particular child will develop certain 
specific needs and no others in one certain year, but we 
do know enough to-day of the soul-needs of childhood to 
be able to set certain specific needs opposite certain years 
of life, and to predict that a lesson course framed to meet 
those needs will, when properly taught to children of that 
age, feed their souls with fit instruction and awaken in 
them a spontaneous, happy response, through which their 
character will be formed and grow. The graded school's 
aim is to deal in that way with every one of its pupils; 
so that each one, as he attends its sessions week by week 
and lives through year after year of his developing life, 
will receive the instruction that he needs in each of his 
years, and will become, through wisely guided forms of 
expressional activity, that which he ought to be. 

130 



THE GRADED LESSONS 

In the light of this ideal of Sunday-school grading we 
see at once that it is a mistake to conceive of grading as 
something appertaining only to large schools. If grading 
is a matter of the work of the Sunday school with each 
pupil, then a little Sunday school needs to have its work 
graded no less than does a large school; though it will no 
doubt go about the work of grading in a different way. 
The best is surely none too good for its children. In the 
little Sunday school we deal with the individual pupil 
directly, and he passes from grade to grade alone. In the 
large Sunday school we are obliged to classify our individ- 
uals and to deal with them in class groups; and they are 
usually promoted in classes and not individually. The 
lessons, also, as we shall see, must be handled differently 
in a large school and in a small one. But grading is 
just as indispensable to good work in the school of four or 
five classes as in that of fifty. 

The need for separate rooms, especially for the lower 
departments, has sometimes loomed up as a barrier to the 
grading of the school and the introduction of the graded 
lessons. Now separate rooms are surely desirable; and 
inasmuch as they are being furnished to more and more 
schools each year, the elementary graded lesson publica- 
tions do very properly provide for department exercises 
to be conducted by the department superintendent in a 
separate department room. But the lessons furnished to 
the class teachers do not depend on a separate room. 
Thousands of junior, primary and even beginners' teachers 
are using the graded lessons in the main room, with not 
even a curtain or a screen to divide one class from the next. 



131 



Ill 

DIFFICULTIES AND OBJECTIONS 

"We have no teachers qualified to handle these more 
educational lessons," objects some superintendent. Along 
with this a kindred difficulty is frequently anticipated: 
"Where are we to get substitute teachers, if each teacher 
is henceforth to teach a different lesson?" 

Supervisory Workers. — ^There is a real difficulty here; 
but it needs to be differently stated in order to be studied 
in the light of the facts. When we take up the graded 
lessons we indicate our desire to raise the educational 
standard of our Sunday school by introducing an im- 
proved method of lesson teaching. Our former standard 
was so low that it made no noticeable difference in our 
output when we picked up a hasty substitute who had 
read over the Bible lesson and introduced him to the class. 
With the new graded lesson system it is true that easy 
and inefficient plans will not work, because we have raised 
the standard, and our classes now expect good teaching on 
a prepared lesson every week. Preparation, even of the 
uniform lesson, involves a study of the particular class 
to be taught, as well as of the lesson material. If we can- 
not have teachers present each Sunday, we must now 
organize a small force of supervisory workers, familiar 
with the lesson courses of their respective departments, 
who can on occasion take vacant classes and in a few 
minutes' glance at the textbook prepare themselves to 

132 



THE GRADED LESSONS 

carry on the work for the day without a break. The 
necessity for a system of trained substitutes is not made 
by the graded lessons, but only revealed. 

As for the qualified teachers, the same thing may be 
said. We always needed them. But it is a mistake to 
suppose that because these lessons are educationally good, 
therefore those who teach them must be educationally 
good in proportion. Which road calls for the better 
driver, — a mountain byroad or a modern macadam high- 
way? One need not be an expert road-maker in order to 
drive over an expertly made road. The graded lessons 
are the Sunday school's educational road: what we need 
in the teachers is simply the same old faithfulness plus 
a willingness to learn the new ways involved in the new 
lessons. Once broken in, the same teachers will do far 
better work with the graded lessons, because the tasks 
involved are so much simpler and the response of the class 
to anything like good teaching is so much more sponta- 
neous and inspiring. 

Superintendents' Difficulties. — Around the uniform 
lesson have grown up certain institutions and customs, 
some of which seem to many a superintendent to be well- 
nigh indispensable to the orderly conduct of the Sunday- 
school session. The reading of the lesson responsively 
is one such: how can you open school without doing that? 
How can hymns be chosen and prayers offered with no 
lesson for the day to ^x the common thought of the 
school? Bring in a medley of independent lessons, and 
where is that unity of impression that makes a good 
Sunday-school session mean so much, even to the 
thoughtless pupil in the ineflBcient teacher's class? The 

133 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

superintendent's desk review has been abused by some; 
and perhaps it is well that that should go. Yet it has 
often been a word of power. Surely the superintendent 
should have a chance to say something to his school: 
whence now is his message to come?, 

Elsewhere also will the loss of a common lesson be felt. 
Not one in ten of the Sunday schools using the uniform 
lessons maintains now a weekly teachers' meeting for the 
study and preparation of next Sunday's lesson; but the 
ideal of such a meeting seems a precious thing to lose, even 
if we have not its reality. The lesson daily readings, also, 
are in some Christian homes used as the guide in family 
worship; and here and there parents are found who go 
over the lesson with their children before Sunday school. 
All this the graded lessons make impossible, do they not? 
Should not the home and its interests be considered before 
the Sunday school? Something, also, must be said for 
the value of the newspaper treatments of the uniform 
lesson, if only as a mark of recognition and a bond of 
Christian unity; and the large publishing interests of our 
denominations, seriously jeopardized as they are by this 
new, expensive, complicated and quite problematical 
system, must be duly considered. 

The Hidden Treasure. — Yes, we should consider all 
these things. To count the cost before making the ven- 
ture is a duty which our Lord himself enjoined. But he 
also spoke a parable of one who sold his house and his 
goods and all that he had, and doubtless for a time was 
deemed by his wife and family a brute and by his neigh- 
bors a madman, because he was determined to own a 
certain field. The man knew what he was after, and so do 

134 



THE GRADED LESSONS 

we. There is a treasure hid in these graded lessons, for 
which all that has been enumerated would be a bargain 
price indeed to pay. But not all this must be paid. 
When the inevitable time of confusion, strangeness and 
readjustment is over we shall find some of these good 
things still with us in improved form, and the rest replaced 
by new values far better than the old. Have faith to go 
forward. The lions at the top of the Hill Difficulty roar 
loudly, and Timorous and Mistrust come scampering 
breathless down. Let the true pilgrims boldly climb the 
hill; and when they come to pass the lions they shall find 
them safely chained. 



135 



IV 

INTRODUCING THE ELEMENTARY LESSONS 

Books or Lessons? — ^The printed textbook pages are 
not the lesson; the lesson is what takes place when an 
average teacher, under reasonably favorable circum- 
stances, comes to Sunday school and uses these pages 
in teaching his class, and when his pupils in like man- 
ner use their pupils' helps and their Bibles in this week's 
work on the lesson. It follows that we do not intro- 
duce the lessons by merely introducing the books. To 
order a full set of graded lesson textbooks, hand them 
out as we have been wont to hand out the uniform 
lesson quarterlies and announce that next Sunday we 
shall start using the new graded lessons, — that is to court 
all kinds of trouble and failure. These lessons ought 
not to be touched by any Sunday school that is not willing 
to go about the work of introducing the lessons in an in- 
telligent way. Nor should any worker lightly say, "We 
introduced the graded lessons and they were a failure." 
He probably did not introduce the lessons at all, but only 
the books; and though there was no doubt a failure some- 
where in his enterprise, it may have been something else 
than the books that failed. Mowing machines and fireless 
cookers have been known to fail in that same way. 

These are educational lessons. Introducing them is 
part of the work of putting the Sunday school on an edu- 
cational basis. It is, therefore, an educational task and 
needs the services of some one who understands educa- 

136 



THE GRADED LESSONS 

tional matters. A Christian school-teacher or principal, 
or a pastor trained at the seminary in religious pedagogy, 
might well be called in as expert adviser to assist in this 
task, unless the superintendent himself is a trained edu- 
cational man. A permanent director of instruction, 
as we shall see, is needed in the work of a graded Sunday 
school; and if such an officer can be secured at the start, 
so much the better. If not, let the superintendent at 
least understand that this is no easy task, and that he 
must not depend on his experience with the uniform lessons. 

The Logical Beginning. — ^The logical place to start 
graded work is always with the younger children. If 
the school has a Primary Department or class, but no be- 
ginners class, take up with the primary teacher the matter 
of introducing the graded primary lessons in her depart- 
ment. If she has but one large primary class, the school 
being small, let her begin with the first-year primary 
lessons, teaching the lesson to all her pupils together. 
Let her begin with the proper lesson for the Sunday when 
she intends to start, — Lesson 14 for the first Sunday in 
January, Lesson 27 for the first Sunday in April, Lesson 
40 for the first Sunday in July, Lesson 1 for the first Sun- 
day in October, or whatever may be her opening Sunday's 
number in the graded lesson year. To start with Lesson 
1 on the first of January would give the children their 
Christmas lesson at Easter time and their Thanksgiving 
lesson at Washington's Birthday. Do not worry as to the 
lessons these children will thus fail to get. Forget the 
things that are behind: get into step at once and march 
with the procession. Follow this as a principle through- 
out all the work of introducing the lessons. 

137 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

In providing the primary teacher with her materials 
see that she has that one of the four parts of the Teacher's 
Manual for the first primary year which covers the lessons 
she is to start with, and the previous parts of that year. 
If she is to begin with Lesson 27 on the first of April, she 
will need Parts I, II and III; then Part IV will be needed 
in June. The first part of the teacher's helper in each 
course, for all departments, contains the general Foreword 
or introduction, and Part II usually carries the list of 
lessons for the year. Sample sets of the pupils' folders 
for each of these parts are also needed. The Teacher's 
Manual is permanent material and will be used again. If 
others assist in the Primary Department, all should be 
similarly supplied. 

All these supplies for the teachers should be in their 
hands at least one month before the teaching of the lessons 
is to begin. The primary teacher and her helpers need to 
study with care not merely the first lesson or two, but the 
work of the whole year. The Foreword is a little teacher- 
training textbook in itself, and several weeks of a busy 
woman's time is none too much to allow for a careful 
mastery of its ideas and comprehension of the purpose 
and aim of the lessons and the reasons for their various 
details. Two months, indeed, would be better. This 
also applies to every course. 

In such a small Sunday school as we have supposed, the 
primary teacher, beginning thus at some point in the first 
year of the three years of primary graded lessons, will go 
on to the second year and then to the third, and will 
finish the course on the last Sunday of September, three 
years or less from the time when she began. The next 
Sunday she will begin with Lesson 1 of the first year and 

138 



THE GRADED LESSONS 

teach the same three years' lessons over again, using the 
same Teacher's Manual, but, of course, furnishing new 
folders to the pupils. These three years of primary teach- 
ing are thus her own regular lesson course; and every 
time she and her workers go over the ground they will 
find new ways of making the lessons a success. 

The primary pupils, ranging, we may suppose, from three 
years in age to nine, will receive each week a ''primary 
folder," — a four-page lesson paper carrying a picture, 
a story, a Bible verse, a verse or two of rhyme and an 
outline picture or motto to be colored. These folders 
take the place of any picture cards and children's papers 
that the school may have hitherto furnished to these chil- 
dren. The story on them is the lesson story which the 
teacher tells for the day. They are not intended for use 
previous to the lesson and must on no account be given 
out before the close of the hour. Learning the Sunday- 
school lesson, for these little children, should consist in 
taking home the pretty folder, telling mother what teacher 
said, reading over or letting mother read aloud the lesson 
story, learning the verses and with colored crayons 
finishing the picture or motto. The parent's help is 
needed as much as ever, but it should come after, not 
before, the teacher's work. 

Grading the Primary Department. — If the school is 
one of a hundred members or more, there will be primary 
children enough to separate into grades. The basis of 
separation at the start should be first age, then size and 
then capacity. In nine cases out of ten, for these years, 
age-grading will be right; but certain children may need 
to be otherwise handled on account of their physical 

139 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

growth or their mental capacities. On this latter point 
the public-school grading is a convenient guide. One 
advantage of having a director of instruction, elected and 
publicly recognized as such, is that he or she can, when 
necessary, take hold of this matter in an educational 
way and settle it without fear or favor. Usually, however, 
the primary teacher, knowing her own children, can grade 
them herself after the plan of grading has been agreed 
upon. 

With the primary children arranged in classes, the erst- 
while primary teacher becomes the primary superintend- 
ent and should be so called. Four divisions should be 
made, either all at once or class by class, as teachers can 
be found. There is no need whatever, at this age, of 
separating boys and girls. One group will contain all 
the children who have passed their sixth, but not their 
seventh birthday; another those who are seven, but not 
yet eight; another those not yet nine. Pupils nine or 
over are properly juniors, and belong in the next higher 
class. The pupils below six are the beginners; we treat 
them as a fourth class in the Primary Department because 
in so many Sunday schools that is where they now are. 
In truth, they should form a department of their own, as 
we shall see. But at least they should have a separate 
teacher and a corner curtained off for their use. 

With three or more graded classes in the Primary Depart- 
ment the primary graded lessons can, if desired, be at once 
installed as they were meant to be used, each grade teach- 
ing its own lesson. This calls for a separate primary room 
with a department program, though there are ways of 
making shift without either. The primary superintendent 
now conducts the program, which is full of important 

140 



THE GRADED LESSONS 

instruction not connected with the lessons, but supple- 
mental thereto. The whole of her hour, opening and 
closing and all between, should be in her own room. A 
portion of the time is spent in class teaching and ac- 
tivity, including the teaching of the graded lessons by 
the class teachers. For the first year or part of a year the 
primary superintendent may teach the first-year lessons 
to the whole department, but as soon as possible the teach- 
ers should take charge of the lesson work, each teaching 
the lesson for her grade. 

Beginners and Juniors. — ^These classes or grades being 
provided for, it is time to take care of the begin- 
ners. The beginners' teacher is in charge of a work 
represented in the day-school system by the kinder- 
garten; and we reahze to-day that this work with 
the four- and five-year-old children is the foundation 
work of the whole Sunday school, and well deserves the 
best room, equipment and teaching force we know how to 
give it. So we secure the brightest and best-equipped 
teacher we can find, give her an entirely separate room if 
we can — a room, light, spacious and on the street floor, 
with a piano — and place in her hands the beginners graded 
lessons. The beginners course is two years long, but it 
is usual to teach one lesson to the whole department, 
even where there are two or more circles whose teachers 
could teach different lessons if that were desirable. To 
keep all together for the two-years' course, promoting 
some each year or half-year, and regularly repeating the 
course, is declared by our elementary leaders to be the 
wisest plan. In a small school, of course, it is the only plan. 

The junior lessons come next. It is possible to start 

141 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

these and the higher courses on the first of January, April 
or July, but it is a much simpler task to introduce them 
at the beginning of the graded year. The school needs, 
of course, a graded organization of classes in order to handle 
the graded lessons; so our first task will be to lay out the 
plan of a graded Junior Department if one is not already 
formed. April is none too early for this work, if we 
propose to start the lessons in October. 

Here again our director of instruction has a work to do. 
This is the work: Make a Hst of all pupils, by classes, 
whose ages average, class by class, from nine to twelve. 
In a small school these children will be in one or a small 
group of classes, several grades in a class. In a school of 
one hundred and fifty members there will be six or seven 
such classes, nearly enough to assign one boys' class and 
one girls' class to each of the four grades. In a larger 
school there will be a group of classes for each grade. 
But in any one of these cases the graded roll of individual 
pupils will indicate to which of the four junior grades the 
pupil belongs, and how many years he has to spend in 
the department before he is promoted, on the Promotion 
Day following his twelfth birthday. All this can be done 
without any present rearrangement of classes or inter- 
ruption of the weekly work. 

In settling special cases, remember that we need flexi- 
bility, tact and common sense in Sunday-school work, 
as well as consistency and faithfulness. The pupils 
themselves can often help us if we will let them. Here 
and there the director will note pupils who should be 
transferred to some other class as soon as it can be done 
without undue friction. Such transfers should if possible 
be made during the year; if left till Promotion Sunday 

142 



THE GRADED LESSONS 

the move will look like penalizing or demotion. Get 
the teacher of the class to which the transferees should 
go to get his pupils to invite them over. Arrange at the 
same time for the teacher from whom they should go to 
be ready to consent, with proper reluctance, when the 
invited pupils raise the subject and ask his advice. If the 
graded lessons can be introduced into a set of well-graded 
classes they will have a better chance. 

The Junior Lessons. — A junior superintendent should 
now be chosen, and copies of the various junior text- 
books placed in his or her hands for study and careful 
distribution to the junior teachers. The same principles 
govern here as have already been stated; that is, the books 
should be handed out in July or August or earlier, each 
teacher receiving the Teacher's Manual, Part I, and a 
sample of the pupil's book to go with it, for whichever 
of the four junior years he is to teach. Where there is 
but one junior class, it must, of course, follow one year 
only, and may start with the first. If the teachers have 
plenty of time to study their books and work out, as they 
should, all the tasks assigned to the pupil for the whole 
of the first part, and if the work is explained to them by a 
director who believes in the lessons and sees how they are 
related to the lesson aim, a good start can be made on all 
four grades abreast on the first Sunday in October. 

Suppose this can all be done, what have we established? 
For the first nine years of Sunday-school life, from three 
to twelve, our Sunday school now offers a consecutive 
course of graded Bible and Christian teaching. Imagine 
a little group of children in two famihes of the church. 
There is a baby just born, another one year old, a toddler 

143 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK . 

of two, a three-year-old and a child of four. The last is 
in the Beginners Department; the others are coming on. 
As the school is now arranged, each one of these five 
children in turn will get the whole nine years of instruc- 
tion and expressive activity; and if we have installed all 
the lessons abreast, then each child will not only get the 
whole course, but will get every year of it in its proper 
logical order during that year of his life for which the 
year's course was selected and written. Compare that 
with the educational hodge-podge that would be served 
to those children, with no two messes alike, if the classes 
through which they passed were all teaching the same 
lesson each Sunday on a six-year revolving plan. 



144 



INTRODUCING THE SECONDARY LESSONS 

With a well-trained and self-reliant director of instruc- 
tion, appointed and sustained by the church as well as 
by the Sunday school, or with a pastor or other worker 
who is an actual educational leader, though not so named, 
or without such a leader, but with a hearty spirit of pro- 
gressiveness and desire for the best actuating the teachers, 
it might be safe to introduce the intermediate and senior 
graded lessons on the same October Sunday as that which 
sees the work of the juniors first put in operation. Under 
any other circumstances it is a risky thing to do. 

Getting the Vision. — ^There are several reasons for this. 
The problem of the right religious teaching of the adoles- 
cent boys and girls is one which the church has never 
solved. The way these boys and girls both drop away 
from us in those years is clear enough proof of that, if 
we should in our dignity hesitate to confess it. The 
new courses are an honest and courageous attempt to 
solve this great problem. Those who worked them out 
were explorers and experimenters; and though they con- 
fidently believe that they are on the right track, yet as to 
the finish and detail of their printed apparatus they count 
not themselves to have attained. The Sunday school 
that, without a vision of the need for real spiritual leader- 
ship for these splendid but trying boys and girls, plunges 

145 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

blindly forward merely because graded lessons are said 
to be the proper thing, will fare as badly as Pliable in 
the Slough of Despond. Go slow. Let the junior 
lessons run a year before you undertake intermediate 
problems. 

Moreover, we want a few junior graduates to start 
business with. It was stated before that the logical place 
to start grading is in the lower departments. Why? 
Because children do not grow down; they grow up. Every 
one of the graded lesson courses was planned with the 
assumption that the pupils have been over the courses 
preceding. While the lessons are being introduced, of 
course, this is not true; but that is merely the transition 
stage. Every year of graded life brings us nearer to the 
time when every junior will have had all the primary 
lessons and every intermediate all the junior lessons. 
Much of the interest of the intermediate lessons depends 
on the pupils' familiarity with the narratives of the Bible. 
From these narratives, which constitute the junior lessons, 
they are now to take the biographical elements and re- 
construct Abraham, Moses, Joshua and other characters 
as living personalities, men worth knowing. One reason 
why some Sunday schools have had a hard time with these 
lessons is that the pupils, having had only the fragmentary 
and irregular studies of the uniform lessons, knew so little 
about the men chosen that the labor of learning the facts 
took the interest out of the work. Later classes will do 
better, for they will come to these lessons prepared to 
handle and enjoy them. By waiting a year we make a 
start in this direction. Nevertheless, if the teachers 
are ready to start at once, do not hold them back; for the 
need is great. These considerations do not apply with the 

146 



THE GRADED LESSONS 

same force to the senior lessons, at least as to the first 
year; though there, too, caution is desirable. 

Study the Aim. — In giving out the intermediate and 
senior books for the teachers to study prior to beginning 
their work, call their special attention to the aims of the 
courses, and remind them that these lessons, like all in 
the series, are cultural rather than informational in char- 
acter. The aim of each lesson in the first year interme- 
diate is to help the boys or girls to know David or Haggai 
as a man, and to feel the power, whatever it may have 
been, of his personality by studying who he was, what he 
did and what he stood for. Now the moment we succeed 
in doing this, we have taught the lesson, whether we get 
over all the lesson material or not. Teaching one of these 
lessons is something like starting an automobile. When 
the engine starts the cranking is over; after that the task 
is to guide the machine. After the boys are well interested 
in David and are themselves at work gathering and ar- 
ranging the Bible information about him, the teacher's 
task is to lead them into forms of expression, not to impress 
on them more information or exhort them to the imitating 
of David's virtues and the avoidance of his sins. Many 
of these lessons have failed for lack of thus following the 
aim. Many workers have judged them too hard because 
there is so much in them to learn. If so, leave out the 
surplus, taking just enough to enable you to make the 
lesson do its appointed service for your pupils' souls. 

Impress on the teachers, also, the need of a careful study 
of the Foreword and other suggestions in the teachers' 
helps. This work is on a very different plan from any- 
thing the ordinary Sunday-school teacher has ever done 

147 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

before. The first impulse, especially of an older teacher, 
will be to criticize and reject the lessons or some of their 
features. Be patient. Nobody can be a good teacher 
who is not willing to be taught himself. Study these 
lessons until you catch the ideal, the vision, that lies 
behind them. After that you may improve on them and 
adapt them by changes to your pupils' needs as much as 
you like; but first do them justice. 



148 



VI 
SUGGESTIONS FOR MANAGEMENT 

Graded lessons, of course, require a graded Sunday 
school; and no Sunday school, however well graded to-day, 
will stay graded unless we make provision for an annual 
readjustment of the fixed graded structure to the growing 
lives of the children. This readjustment is effected 
through the holding of an annual Promotion Day. As 
the lesson courses start with the first Sunday of October, 
the last Sunday of September is the most convenient time 
for this. The popular exercises of Rally Day can easily 
be merged into this more purposeful educational ob- 
servance. 

Promotion. — All honor should be lent to the day. The 
director of instruction is the real officer of the day, though 
the superintendent conducts the program. Each pupil 
outside the adult classes goes up one grade, except in a few 
individual cases where demotion is obviously called for. 
Honor is given to those whose finished graded work merits 
honor, but the others go up just the same; they had their 
chance, and we need their places for those coming on. 
In large Sunday schools the promotions are by classes, 
the teachers being assigned to new classes of younger age 
in the same department. In smaller schools the classes 
are fixed and individual pupils of graduating age are pro- 
moted, while others join the class from below. 

The senior promotions to the adult classes first take 

149 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

f)lace; and the new grading of the undergraduate seniors 
is read from the graded roll, with honors as merited. 
Then the fourth year intermediates are promoted to the 
senior department, and their new department roll is read 
in Hke manner. In each case the department graduates 
rise and march to their new places, while the others shift 
seats as the roll of their grade is called. The elementary 
graduations, — ^junior to intermediate, primary to junior, 
beginners to primary and "cradle-rollers" to beginners, — 
can be made a beautiful and touching ceremony, sugges- 
tions for which may be found in the elementary graded 
manuals. Be careful, however, to deal with the older 
pupils in quieter and more grown-up fashion, and avoid 
asking the older boys to make themselves individually 
conspicuous. Diplomas may be given to the depart- 
ment graduates. 

The Director of Instruction. — ^A clearer idea of the need 
for a personal director of instruction may be seen if we 
enumerate some of the things which such an oflBcer may 
properly do. In a well-organized school, however, much 
of the director's work will be syndicated in the hands 
of department superintendents and helpers; and a good 
director will labor to that end. These are some of his 
responsibilities: to prepare the orders for graded lesson 
books and material; to assist teachers in lesson planning; 
to give special attention to backward pupils and classes 
falling behind; to act as temporary substitute teacher; 
to hear memory work; to inspect pupils' work and award 
honors; to keep the graded roll; to suggest new books for 
the library bearing on the lessons; to prepare the school 
for Promotion Sunday. 

150 



THE GRADED LESSONS 

The graded roll is simply a list of all the pupils, be- 
ginning with the beginners, arranged by classes and de- 
partments as far as possible, with blanks for new names to 
come in during the year. Opposite each name is the pu- 
pil's grade for the year, P 1, I 2, etc., indicating primary 
first grade, intermediate second grade, etc.; also his birth- 
day and the class in which he is this year enrolled. A 
column should be left for remarks. A small blank book 
can easily be ruled for this purpose. Addresses and 
records of attendance are for the class books and the sec- 
retary's record. Group each grade separately. 

Working Together. — A stated monthly meeting of the 
ofiicers and teachers of all departments should be held 
on a week night, for the study and discussion of the 
many problems of the Sunday school. The presidents 
of the organized adult classes should be made members 
of this body. "Sunday-school board" is the customary 
designation in Methodist usage, and a very good name. 
^'Workers' conference" is the designation in the new joint 
standard. If the superintendent is wise, he will see that 
the pastor is made chairman or moderator, with the under- 
standing that he presides over, but does not run, the meet- 
ing; that being done by the superintendent as floor leader 
under parliamentary rules. The hour of adjournment 
must be as definite as that of calling to order. If business 
is dispatched in forty-five minutes, the next thirty can 
be spent in department caucuses in which the lesson prob- 
lems can be studied in detail. Much graded-lesson friction 
can be lubricated with a workers' conference regularly held. 

The teachers and leaders in each department need the 
help of contact with their fellow teachers of like depart- 

151 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

ments in other Sunday schools. Whatever faciUties for 
this exist in city, county, state and denominational con- 
nection should be used to the full. No Sunday school 
can afford to work on the vast problems of graded instruc- 
tion alone. The graded union or city institute should be 
loyally attended; and every year should see one or more 
of the key workers sent at the school's expense to the 
nearest school of methods for a week of instruction and 
uplift. The schools that have done this in the past are 
to-day having little trouble with the graded lessons. 

As the superintendent reviews this plan of work, he 
may be pardoned for asking in a dazed sort of way, "Where 
do I come in?" What is there left for him to do? More 
than ever. With the uniform lessons now merely one of 
several courses being followed in the main room, they 
can no longer be the unifying factor for the day. Now the 
way is open to give each Sunday its own lesson. The 
superintendent's course is the calendar. A service book for 
the superintendent, with a platform suggestion for every 
Sunday in the year, is now being planned by at least 
one denominational house ;^ but a superintendent with 
ideas could easily make his own. Make the closing service 
brief and devotional. Let the theme of the day guide the 
selections of the opening service, and close that service 
with a Bible hymn, a showing of Bibles and a prayer 
for God's blessing on the lessons to be studied in the 
classes. 

Festival Days. — ^The festivals of the Sunday school 
should be put into educational relationship with the work 

i"The Westminster Sunday-school Superintendents' Service 
Book." Planned for annual publication by the Westminster Press. 

152 



THE GRADED LESSONS 

of the year. Besides the fun-night at Christmas, or in 
connection with it, a pubHc exhibition should be given 
of some of the good work our departments have done 
during the fall quarter. Another such may be given at 
Children's Day; perhaps one a quarter. Properly worked 
up to and wisely and brightly handled, fully as much popu- 
lar interest can be evoked with a picturesque Bible 
dialogue or drama, a sand map demonstration of the 
journeys of Jesus, a primary recitation of texts and lesson 
poems, an intermediate debate on the relative merits of 
Joseph and Moses, or a brace of senior essays on the medi- 
cal missionary and the trained nurse as factors in the 
progress of Christian civilization. If these graded courses 
have been dragging a little, a tonic of this sort may set 
them on their feet again. 

The End of the Work. — ^The end of all our graded lesson 
work is salvation. Salvation includes conversion; but 
it neither begins nor ends there. The tiny beginner needs 
the Lord Jesus Christ, and the honest but blundering 
and sinning young follower of Jesus needs him too. We 
want maximum, not minimum Christians, heroes and 
heroines of faith and service, the seeds of a generation 
that shall take the world for Christ. The one ruling pur- 
pose that underlies every year of the International Graded 
Lessons is to help the Sunday schools of North America 
to make that dream come true. 



153 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 



VI 

THE ADULT CLASS 

BY 

W. C. PEARCE AND OTHERS 



155 



THE ADULT CLASS 



HOW TO ORGANIZE 

Cultivate Atmosphere. — It is a mistake to organize 
any adult class before its members understand and 
heartily approve the new plan of work. One might 
as well plant garden seeds in frozen soil. The organized 
class is an ideal democracy, and therefore every partici- 
pant should be both intelligent and sympathetic, if the 
largest success is to be achieved. Literature should be 
secured, and should be given to those who are to be invited 
to join the class. A careful and thorough study should 
be made of the plans and methods of the organized class. 
Much depends on the thoroughness of this study and the 
impression it makes. 

Enlist Key Men and Women. — A knowledge of any 
community or congregation enables one to select easUy 
the young men or young women whom others will follow. 
It is wise to approach such persons first, and seek to win 
others through them. Sometimes these leaders may be 
found already in the Sunday school. Often they are to 
be found outside. It is profitable to be patient and per- 
sistent in the enlistment of real leaders at the very begin- 
ning. A good start gives promise of victory. 

157 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

Organize Existing Classes. — Nearly every Sunday 
school has one or more adult classes that are not organized. 
Invite the leaders of these classes to a conference and ex- 
plain to them the value and purpose of class organization. 
Give them some concrete examples of classes that have 
received large benefits through organization. When the 
leaders have been interested, they will secure the coopera- 
tion of the entire class membership. Invite the members 
to meet by classes. If practicable, have speakers engaged 
who have had large experience in the work and will be 
able to impart enthusiasm to all who are present. Have on 
hand printed material with suggestions as to plans of 
organization and methods of work. 

Enlist New Members. — A careful canvass of the entire 
neighborhood should be made. From this canvass care- 
fully prepare a list of names of all those who should be 
interested in Bible study and who might be secured as 
members of an adult class. If there is more than one adult 
class in the school, divide this list of names into groups and 
assign one group to each class. Invite all whose names 
are included on the list to attend a conference, where the 
matter of organizing a class will be discussed. Present to 
them in an attractive way the advantages of organization 
for men and women. Sometimes, in this way, new classes 
may be started from entirely new material. 

Division of Classes. — In some cases it has been found 
wise to begin by inviting a few men and a few women, who 
have been members of a mixed class or unorganized classes, 
to meet at some convenient time, and with their coopera- 
tion start two classes, one for men and the other for women. 

158 



THE ADULT CLASS 

It has been found that numbers of men and women are 
not usually as easily reached in a mixed class as in separate 
classes. It is not urged that mixed classes be discontinued, 
but it has been found wise to build up in every Sunday 
school a men's class and a women's class. This can be 
done without embarrassing or hindering in any way the 
work of any existing mixed class. 

Charter Membership Plan. — ^This plan provides four 
definite steps in the organization of an adult class: (1) The 
holding of an organization conference with those who have 
been chosen as leaders, and those whom they may invite. 
At such a conference a careful review may be made of the 
plans proposed. (2) The preparation of a prospective 
membership list. This list should include the names of 
those whom the leaders think should be, and possibly could 
be, won to the class about to be organized. The placing 
of a name on this list should be equivalent to a covenant 
on the part of all participating that they will use every 
legitimate means to win that one to the class. In making 
this list it should be kept in mind that we are commanded 
to "go out into the highways and hedges, and constrain 
them to come in." (3) The appointment of a time and 
place for permanent organization. It is unwise to fix 
this time too near the date of the preliminary organization 
conference; neither is it well to appoint a time too far re- 
moved. From four to six weeks after the date of the organ- 
ization conference is suggested. A week night should be 
chosen, and the best place is the church, where the class will 
meet regularly. (4) The conducting of an enthusiastic 
and systematic canvass for charter members. Everyone 
on the prospective membership list should be sought 

159 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

definitely, and many others also. The date for forming the 
permanent organization should be announced frequently, 
and it should be made clear that only those who join the 
class before organization can become charter members. 
When this plan is followed, this form of application may be 
used: 



I wish to become a member of an adult Bible class to be 
organized as may be agreed upon by the members, each 
member to have a voice in the conduct of the class ; the 
class to be a part of the Sunday school and its objects to 
be Bible study, mutual helpfulness and an adequate Chris- 
tian service for every member. 

All applicants for charter membership will be duly noti- 
fied as to the time and place of organization. 

Name 

Address 

Signed at request of 



When the date appointed for the completion of the class 
organization arrives, make much of the meeting. Be sure 
that a definite plan of organization is ready to present. 
Have in mind those who will make efficient ofiicers, and 
provide for the appointment of such committees as are 
necessary to insure success. Many classes find it exceed- 
ingly helpful to close this campaign with a banquet; at 
this time permanent organization is effected. 

The following standard of the International Sunday- 

160 



THE ADULT CLASS 

school Association has been tested many times, and will 
give to any class a working organization: 

1. The class shall be definitely connected with some 
Sunday school. 

2. The class shall have the following oflficers: teacher, 
president, vice president, secretary and treasurer. It shall 
also have at least three standing committees, as follows: 
(1) Membership; (2) Devotional-Missionary; (3) Social. 
It is not required that these committees be known by these 
particular names, but that the class shall have three com- 
mittees which are responsible for these three kinds of work. 

3. The class shall consist of members who are twenty 
years of age or over. 

Certificate of Recognition. — For the encouragement of 
classes which attain the foregoing standard of organization 
the International Sunday-school Association has prepared 
a beautifully lithographed certificate of recognition, to be 
given through the various state and provincial associations 
upon the receipt of an application blank properly filled out 
and the small fee required. 

The advantages of enrollment and the securing of this 
certificate are varied. It helps to advertise the organized 
class idea to all visitors, and it aids in establishing a per- 
manent and effective plan of class organization; it is an 
expression of loyalty to the Organized Adult Bible Class 
Movement; it is an indication that the class is willing to 
stand up and be counted as a part of the Adult Bible Class 
Movement; it will bring the class into a helpful fellowship 
with the other organized classes of its community and of 
North America. No class should think it can have the 
best success while working alone; it will give to the class an 

161 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

opportunity to help others — when a class has been very 
successful its testimony should be given everywhere; it is a 
tremendous stimulus to world-wide evangelization to know 
that there are so many classes of men and women being 
organized in connection with the Church and Sunday 
school around the Word of God and ready for Christian 
service; it brings the class into vital touch with its own 
denomination and with the county and state associations, 
making it possible for them to keep the class advised re- 
garding conventions and new publications; it is an open 
declaration that the class desires to be counted as a loyal 
factor in winning the world to the Man of Galilee. 

The Teacher. — In selecting a teacher for an organized 
class the rules of the church and the school should be 
recognized. It is essential that the best teacher who can 
be secured be placed in charge of such a class. The teach- 
ing of the Word of God is the magnet of power in every adult 
class. While no ironclad rule can be laid down, it is 
usually best to secure a man to teach men and a woman to 
teach women. 



162 



II 

AN ADULT CLASS DEMONSTRATION 

The best way to learn how an adult Bible class does 
its work is to attend a business meeting of a live class. 
For the sake of those who cannot attend the sessions of 
other classes there is sometimes given in a central place 
a demonstration of adult class methods. For the occasion 
a class is brought together which is made up of oflBcers and 
members from many classes, and a class meeting is held 
which shows the proper method of procedure in class meet- 
ings, and outlines valuable methods of week-day activity. 

One such demonstration was given at Philadelphia, 
Pennsylvania. After taking part in the general opening 
exercises, the chairman of the Executive Committee asked 
the men to assemble on the pulpit platform, which had 
been enlarged to represent a classroom, for the transaction 
of business and the study of the lesson.^ At the platform 
steps the members and visitors were greeted by the Re- 
ception Committee. 

After a general exchange of greetings the class was called 
to order by the president, W. D. Stem. After prayer by 
a member of the class the secretary was asked to give 
his report. 

1 At this special demonstration session business was transacted which 
would properly belong to the semi-monthly, monthly, or quarterly busi- 
ness sessions, to be held on a week night, and followed by a social or an 
entertainment. The Sunday meeting is for Bible study. Preceding the 
Bible study half hour there may very properly be brief reports of some 
of the committees. During the transaction of business the president 
should preside. When business has been disposed of the teacher takes 
his place before the class. 

163 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 
Report of the Secretary 

As secretary of this class I desire to make the following 
report for the year ending November 20, 1911: 

Number on the roll to-day 60 

Number on the roll one year ago 40 

Increase in number on the roll for the year.. 20 

Present to-day 50 (83%) 

Present a year ago 31 (76%) 

We have with us to-day 11 visitors who, I find, have 
no Sunday-school connection. I should be pleased to add 
their names to our roll. 

We have removed 10 names from the roll during the 
year and added 30, making an increase, as above stated, 
of 20. 

Of the 10 members whose names have been removed 
from the roll, 7 are members of Organized Adult Bible 
Classes, as follows : 

John and James Scott, Pittsburgh, Pa. 

Thomas Robb, Buffalo, N. Y. 

James Henry, Newark, N. J. 

Joseph Boyd, Wilmington, Del. 

James McConnell, Baltimore, Md. 

Howard Hunt, Scranton, Pa. 

We have reason to hope the other three members will 
return to the class very soon. 

Five of our members will unite with the church next 
Sunday; then the entire class will be members of this 
church. 

Return postal cards have been sent to absentees, ear- 
nestly requesting them to return to the class. 

Receipts for the year were $265.50 

Expenditures 255.50 

Balance $ 10.00 

Respectfully submitted, 

(Signed by the secretary.) 
164 



THE ADULT CLASS 

The president. ''You will agree with me that this is a 
very gratifying report from the secretary. We shall now 
hear the annual report of the treasurer." 

Report of the Treasurer 
receipts 

November 20, 1910— balance $ 10.50 

Cash received for General Fund of Sunday school .... 100.00 

Cash received for Home and Foreign Misssons 90.00 

Special offering for Sociable and Class Banquet 25.00 

Special offering for Flower Fund 10.00 

Miscellaneous offerings 30.00 

Total $265.50 

EXPENDITURES 

Voucher: 

110, 112, 114, 116, 119, 121, 123, 125, 127, 129, 131, 
134 (to order of the treasurer of the Simday school 

for the school's General Fund^) $100.00 

115 Home Missions 45.00 

130 Foreign Missions 45.00 

117 Chairman Flower Committee 10.00 

118 Chairman Social Committee 25.00 

111 Pennsylvania State S. S. Assn. O. A. B. C 5.00 

133 Pennsylvania Bible Society 2.00 

113 Improvement Fund Church 5.00 

120 Men and Religion Forward Movement 2.50 

122 Missionary Map for Class 3.50 

124 Postage and Stationery (Secretary) 2.25 

126 Italian Mission 3.75 

128 Sailors' Life Line League 2.75 

132 Thanksgiving Basket, Poor Family 3.75 

$255.50 
Balance 10.00 

Respectfully submitted, 

(Signed by the treasurer.) 

The treasurer. "I should like, Mr. President, to have 
this report audited by the proper committee." 

1 Every adult class should give to the treasury of the school a specified 
minimum per cent of receipts, which should be agreed on after confer- 
ence with the officers of the church and Sunday school. 

165 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

The 'president. "In compliance with the request of the 
treasurer, I shall appoint a committee of three to audit 
the account. The committee will report at the next 
monthly business meeting. 

"We shall now be glad to hear the librarian's report." 

Report of the Librarian 

The librarian is pleased to present the following report 
in behalf of himself and his assistants : 

We have seen that each member of the class and each 
visitor is handed a hymn book on his arrival in his place 
in the school; if the singing has already begun, the book is 
open at the hymn then in use. When the members pass 
from the main room, where they assemble for the opening 
exercises, they are handed Bibles as they enter their 
classroom. 

We have found that some of our own members are em- 
barrassed by reason of their slowness in finding the lesson 
in the Bible, and we have learned that some new men, 
unaccustomed to the use of the Book, have hesitated to 
come, owing to this embarrassment. We have attempted 
to overcome this difficulty by having placed in the Bible 
at the lesson a slip of paper on which is written the subject 
of the lesson, with book, chapter and verses. For this 
purpose we have been using a rubber stamp, which is 
about worn out. The blank part of the slip can be used 
for notes and taken home at the close of the study of the 
lesson. 

We further report that, having noticed carelessness on 
the part of some of our members in the handling of both 
hymn books and Bibles, we have made it our business 
during the past month to examine these books at the close 
of each session, when gathering them for replacing in the 
cases, in order that we might note all damage. This 
month it will cost $2.75 to repair or replace books, one 
of which was deliberately marked with a pencil. We 

166 



THE ADULT CLASS 

think that the class should make this damage good out 
of the treasury, if for no other reason than to teach us 
our responsibility in the care of church property. 

We regret to report that the twenty volumes in our class 
missionary library are somewhat dusty on the covers and 
are elsewhere as clean and unspotted as when new. We 
should be glad to see a few more finger marks from actual 
use. This library is almost neglected. We should be 
glad to receive suggestions from the class as to the best 
methods to adopt to induce the men to use these splendid 
and intensely interesting books. 

Permit us to call special attention to the volumes in the 
Adult Class Reading Course. These will be found on our 
shelves. 

Respectfully submitted, 

(Signed by the librarian.) 

The president. "That is certainly fine. I would 
suggest that some of you fellows keep your pencils in 
your pocket during the session hereafter. 

''We shall now hear the report of the Membership Com- 
mittee." 

Report of the Membership Committee 

The Membership Committee reports that to-day's 
record shows eighty per cent of our enrollment in attend- 
ance. The contest between the married and single men 
results to-day in a material advance on the part of the 
married men, while the single men are holding their own. 
The record is as follows: 

Married men — enrollment, 40; present, 28. 
Single men — enrollment, 35; present, 22. 

This change in standing may be explained partially by 
the fact that two of our members have, during the last 
week, taken unto themselves wives, and therefore change 
sides. Congratulations are in order for Brother Benton 

167 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

and Brother Wilson. The class would be glad to respond 
to an invitation to a housewarming from either or both. 

Of the absentees reported to this committee to be looked 
up, six are out of the city temporarily and letters of greet- 
ing and good wishes have been sent them in the name of 
the class. They have been asked to respond with some 
greeting that can be read at our next meeting. Five are 
either sick or are detained by sickness in their families, 
and their names have been turned over to the Visitation 
Committee. One of these expressed a desire that the 
class arrange for a cottage prayer meeting at his home; this 
request has been referred to the Devotional Committee. 
We are glad to report that Mr. Ames and Mr. Rickard, 
who have been absent for some time, are present, through 
the work of Mr. Wolfman of our committee. Mr. Wolf- 
man, will you tell the class how you accomplished it? 

Mr. Wolfman. "Last Sunday I called at the home of 
Brother Ames and learned that he had been obliged to be 
away from the city for several Sundays, and that he had 
gotten out of the habit of coming to Sunday school. He 
told himself that he needed the rest, and that the class 
would get along pretty well without him. I made an ap- 
pointment and called for him on the way to prayer service 
on Wednesday night. The pastor spoke on The Man's 
Place in the Church,' and Mr. Ames was so impressed 
that he is not only here to-day, but has brought with him 
a friend who, we hope, will become one of us. . . . Mr. 
Rickard is a busy man and hard to catch, but I wrote him 
a letter, and had others do so, telling him how he was 
needed in our class discussion. Late in the week I dropped 
in for a few minutes at his office and just talked ^class.' 
If Brother Rickard's interest had lagged, it must have 
revived, for when I stopped for him on the way here I 
found him getting ready to come." 

The chairman of the Membership Committee. "The com- 
mittee presents two new members for the class, and as it 

168 



THE ADULT CLASS 

may be interesting to know how they were secured, I 
think Mr. Davis will tell us in his own words." 

Mr, Davis. 'The committee has a list of names of pros- 
pective members; the two who unite with us to-day have 
been on this list for some time. They had both been vis- 
ited several times by different members of the committee, 
and have been attending our Sunday-evening services. 
Last week Mr. Wolfman entertained Mr. Traymore and 
his wife at dinner, and during the evening several men of 
the class dropped in to talk over some class matters, and, 
incidentally, met Mr. Garritt, who began to see what a live 
thing our class is. The result was that he decided to be- 
come one of us. During the last week Mr. Frazer has 
received a visit each day from some member of the class, 
and when Mr. Sarvis called to-day he found that Mr. 
Frazer had considerately concluded to become a member 
and save us further trouble." 

The chairman. "Mr. President, the committee is very 
glad to introduce Mr. Traymore and Mr. Frazer to you 
as members of the class." 

The president (to the members, as they rise and receive 
the greetings of the class). "I can't reach you, brethren, 
but I want to say you are very fortunate to be in this class." 

The chairman. "The committee calls your attention 
to the fact that we have with us several visitors, to whom 
we extend a hearty welcome. Every visitor is a possible 
member, and always a welcome guest. We are always in- 
terested in knowing how and why our visitors come. 
Perhaps some would be willing to tell us. Mr. Morrison, 
of Chicago, is one of our guests to-day. May I ask him 
to tell us how he came to be here?" 

Mr. Morrison. "I am a traveling salesman represent- 
ing a Chicago firm. When at home I attend church. 
On the hotel desk last night I noticed a card advertising 

169 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

your church and class, and partly decided to look you up. 
This morning, when I came down late to breakfast, two 
of your members were waiting for me and invited me to 
your morning preaching service. There more than a dozen 
men sought me out and urged me to come to the class. 
Could I do anything else?" 

The chairman. "The committee recommends that the 
class be divided into groups of seven, each of which shall 
endeavor to increase its number to ten. The first group 
to accomplish this shall be known as No. 1; the second, 
as No. 2, etc. Each group is then to be responsible for 
its own members, seeing that they attend, and if absent, 
reporting the cause. In this way we believe that we can 
easily pass the century mark in our enrollment. 

"The attention of the class is called to a meeting of the 
Membership Committee to be held on Monday night at 
seven o'clock. It is proposed to decide upon a definite 
plan and begin at that time the work of ^following up' 
the names reported on the cards handed to our pastor on 
Saturday as a result of the great home visitation in this 
city on that day. We urge every man in the class, who 
can possibly do so, to meet with us and join in this work 
of getting men." 

The 'president. "Now we are to hear from the Social 
Committee." 

Report of the Social Committee 

The Social Committee wants this to be a very sociable 
organization, so before we have the report I want every 
man to stand and shake hands with the man on his left 
and then with the man on his right. Please shake! 

Our social on last Tuesday night was a great success. 
We met at the home of the president at half-past six. 
Three members of the Reception Committee assisted the 
president in receiving the men and made all feel at home 
immediately. 

170 



THE ADULT CLASS 

The members were asked to bring three things: first, 
a happy, social spirit; second, a helpful suggestion; and 
third, a prospective member. Thirty-five men — twenty 
members and fifteen friends — sat down to dinner at seven 
o'clock. The class artist had painted place cards for each 
guest, suggestive of some peculiarity or class activity. 
For instance, the card of the chairman of the Social Com- 
mittee pictured two men, jolly-looking fellows, enjoying a 
funny story, with the motto, "Laugh and the world laughs 
with you"; the card of the chairman of the Membership 
Committee showed two fishermen with a net and the motto 
"Catch 'em alive!" The card of the teacher was an earnest- 
looking man with an open Bible and the motto, "Search 
the Scriptures"; the president's card was a smiling man, 
holding a gavel, and the motto was, "Me for a second 
term!" 

After a very enjoyable dinner, the president warmly ex- 
pressed his pleasure in having the class and its friends 
at his home and as his guests. He then asked the members 
to give, in one-minute speeches, their opinions of the class, 
its work and its future. Twenty-one bright, crisp, help- 
ful, suggestive speeches were made, including the pastor's, 
in exactly twenty-one minutes. Several of the visitors, 
who were not members of the class, expressed their ap- 
preciation of the privilege of being of the party. 

At nine o'clock the men were greatly surprised by the 
arrival of the wives, sweethearts and sisters of the mem- 
bers. Music, singing, readings and recitations concluded 
the most delightful social event the class has ever had. 
As a result of this social there are eight new members of 
the class. 

At our social next month the class will entertain the 
boys of our school, and the Boy Scouts will act as a Recep- 
tion Committee. A great evening with the boys is antici- 
pated. Men, be ready for it! 

Respectfully submitted, 

(Signed by the chairman.) 

171 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

The 'president "We shall next hear the report of the 
Social Service Committee." 



Report of the Social Service Committee 

First. We have noticed that less than twenty-five 
per cent of the male members of our church are in regular 
attendance at the Sunday services. We have, therefore, 
organized this class into a Visiting Committee. After 
making out eight lists of from ten to fifteen names of the 
male members of our church, we distributed these fists 
to the members of this class, who have been visiting, 
two by two, the men of our church. It is our intention 
to give these several lists to different pairs of men, so that 
before we get through perhaps a dozen or more men will 
have called on the delinquents. In this way we expect 
to let the irregular members know that they are being 
missed. The duties of this Visiting Committee are purely 
social, and all understand that if they hear any adverse 
criticisms they are not to advertise these among the con- 
gregation, but quietly report them to the pastor or the 
oflficers of the church. We have mentioned our plan to the 
members of the women's class and suggested that perhaps 
they could do likewise with the women members of the 
church. We suggest that ten minutes be given each Sun- 
day, before the study of the lesson, to reports from our 
Visiting Committee. 

Second. We have secured a list of parents not members 
of the church whose children are in our Sunday school. 
We expect to visit these fathers and mothers and tell them 
how glad we are that their children are coming to our 
school. If they have no regular church home we shall 
invite them to ours, and also extend a cordial invitation to 
become members of our organized Bible classes. When 
we get the cards from the Home Visitation Committee 
we shall let the Visiting Committee of this class look after 
these so far as possible. 

172 



THE ADULT CLASS 

Third. We have secured the consent of our church 
oflScers to open the Sunday-school rooms of our church 
for the neighborhood children Friday evenings from De- 
cember to March, inclusive, from 7 : 30 to 9 P. m. We shall 
organize the girls into sewing, crocheting, fancy work 
and other classes. For the boys we shall have plain car- 
pentry work in the basement. We find that some of the 
men and women of our Bible classes have had experience 
in drawing and raffia work, so that it will be possible to 
have other classes in these subjects. We believe that this 
will make the church an important factor in the neigh- 
borhood and be the means of getting recruits for our Sun- 
day school and church. We are now looking for a com- 
petent person who will act as general supervisor for this 
work. Some two hundred dollars will be needed, but we 
expect to get this sum by voluntary contributions from 
our members. 

Fourth. We have sent one of the regular members 
of our class to a down-town church as teacher. The pas- 
tor of this church told us that he could use twenty more 
competent teachers; and that if he had that number no 
less than two hundred boys and girls, who are now on the 
streets on Sundays, could be brought into his Sunday 
school. 

Respectfully submitted, 

(Signed by the chairman.) 

The president "We shall now listen to the report of the 
Devotional Committee." 

Report of the Devotional Committee 

During the past month we have asked the members of 
the class to devote at least ten minutes of each day to the 
study of God's Word. Forty of the men have promised 
to do so. 

We took our pastor by surprise the other night when a 
few of us called on him at the manse and asked for the 

173 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

privilege of meeting with him for fifteen minutes of prayer 
before the morning service. You may be sure the request 
was granted. He says it will be a source of inspiration 
to him to enter the pulpit on Sunday mornings in the 
knowledge that some of his men are holding him up before 
God in prayer. We want every member of the class who 
will volunteer for this ministry of prayer to join us in the 
pastor's study next Sunday morning. 

We have had an average attendance of thirty-five 
members of the class at the Sunday-night service. It has 
been a source of great pleasure to your committee to see 
the way in which the men have scattered through the 
audience prepared to greet strangers in any part of the 
church. If a stranger gets out without a hearty greeting 
he must go by way of the chimney, as that is the only 
place left unguarded, and it is warm even there these 
winter nights. 

Three men, with their wives, have confessed Christ 
during the past month and have been received into the 
church. This has been brought about by God's blessing 
on the efforts of one member of the committee. He is not 
a graduate of the schools, he has had few educational 
advantages, but he possesses two indispensable qualifica- 
tions for soul-winning: he has a personal knowledge of 
Christ as his Redeemer and Lord, and his daily life is a 
witness for the truth of the Christian religion. 

Men of the class are learning that it is not such a terrible 
undertaking to pray in public. Four new voices were 
heard in prayer during the devotional exercises of the class. 
A number took similar part at the midweek prayer service. 

We have organized a branch Sunday school in Irish- 
town, across the railroad, and have arranged for cottage 
prayer meetings in the homes of these long-neglected 
people. There is much enthusiasm on their part, and 
some of them have been seen at the Sunday-night service. 
Respectfully submitted, 

(Signed by the chairman.) 

174 



THE ADULT CLASS 

The president "We shall now have the report of the 
Visitation Committee." 



Repokt of the Visitation Committee 

During the past month your committee has again sent 

groceries and provisions to the B family, and has left 

a standing order at the baker's for a daily delivery of two 

loaves of bread at the home of the G family, where 

real distress exists. Neighbors have been interested in 

them and they will not be allowed to suffer. If Mr. G 

sobers up and makes good on the odd jobs we are getting 
him, we shall get him the proper clothing to come to class. 
He says he will come when he can get respectable clothes. 

Jimmy M , whom the Membership Committee 

brought into the class from a speakeasy one Sunday, 
and who was later converted in a class meeting, is again 
in sore trouble. This time the poor fellow has been in the 
hospital with appendicitis. He has just come back to his 
home in very bad shape and wholly unfit for work. His 
previous long illnes, with fever, used up all his savings and 
left him in debt. With a home to maintain, he is cer- 
tainly in a bad way. Some of the members of your com- 
mittee advanced him the money to pay his rent and a few 
urgent bills. We are planning this week to surprise him 
with a substantial gift from the class funds with which to 
help put him on his feet again. He is still unable to work, 
but during the two years he has been in the church he has 
lived a splendid Christian life. During that time he had 
a siege of blood poison, a run of fever and now appendi- 
citis, yet he has never complained. Your committee has 
looked after him in each illness. The boys should drop 
around and give Jimmy a word of cheer. 

In recent months the members have probably missed 
Mr. W . He has cancer of the stomach. His inabil- 
ity to work has brought his family into very straitened 
circumstances, there being six children and only two old 

175 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

enough to earn anything. He is a weaver, and his earn- 
ings were not large at any time. His condition has been 
such that he could not be taken care of properly at home, 
so, after a conference with the family, your committee 
made application to get him into the Home for Incurables. 
Through the influence of one of the Board we are enabled 
to have him admitted at once, your committee giving the 
necessary bond. One of our members, who is a chauffeur, 
procured for us the big car of his employer, and by means 
of it made the journey to the home as easy and delightful 
as possible; the trip was made through the prettiest parts 

of the park. Mr. W is being made comfortable for 

the short time he has to live. As we bade him good-by 
at the home his parting words were of appreciation to the 
class. 

A member of the class who has been out of work for a 
long time secured — through one of our number — a chance 
to drive a delivery wagon, but he did not have fifty dollars 
to deposit; the deposit being required of all drivers. 
Your committee learned of this, and the required amount 
has been advanced by a number of friends until such time 
as he can repay the loan. 

Most of you will remember the little Englishman we 
introduced at our last class supper; he had just come over 
to America. We soon learned that he was a victim of the 
drink habit. You will recall that he attended our class 
for a while, but we were unable to hold him after he moved 
quite a distance from the church. Through him his 
sister's husband has given himself up to drink. This poor 
woman is heartbroken and has appealed to the class to try 
to do something for these fellows. Upon investigation 
we found the children in need of proper clothing, and have 
taken care of them and brought them into Sunday school. 

We have one of our strongest men working in a tactful 
way to welcome these men. We expect to land them both 
in class one of these days. 

The funds at the disposal of this committee are getting 
low, but, from past experience, we know that the mere 

176 



THE ADULT CLASS 

mention of the fact is all that is necessary to have the 
matter remedied at once. 

Respectfully submitted, 
(Signed by the chairman.) 

The president. "Now we are ready to hear from the 
Temperance Committee." 

Report of the Temperance Committee 

During the past month the members of the committee 
have visited in the homes of fifteen men who were habitual 
users of strong drink, and have succeeded in obtaining a 
promise from eight of them to discontinue the use of liq- 
uors, and we hope to win over the other seven. 

We have also urged our friends and neighbors to refuse 
to sign any applications for the renewal of liquor licenses. 
We would respectfully ask that the class, as a body, 
cooperate with us in this. We think we can thus reduce 
the number of saloons in our neighborhood. 

We would also ask the class to authorize this committee 
to obtain temperance literature for distribution wherever 
we think it will accomplish the most good. 

We have frequently heard complaints made by teachers 
that it is difficult to obtain new material for use in the 
teaching of the temperance lessons. This committee has, 
therefore, planned to gather fresh material for the use of 
the teachers of our school. 

The committee is also planning another temperance 
meeting, when a converted drunkard will tell the story 
of his fall and redemption. 

It has come to our knowledge that the proprietor of 
one of the saloons in our neighborhood recently sold 
liquor to some of our boys who are under age; we have, 
therefore, reported the case to the Law and Order Society 
and are prepared to furnish the necessary evidence to 
insure his conviction for the offense, and the revocation 
of his license. 

177 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

We have just learned that the front of the residence at 
1561 South Eighteenth Street is being torn out for the 
purpose of opening a saloon, and I move that this class 
enter a protest to the court. 

Respectfully submitted, 

(Signed by the chairman.) 

The president "The last report of this business session 
will be made by the Missionary Committee." 

Report of the Missionary Committee 

The Missionary Committee gladly brings to your atten- 
tion a few facts taken from the last report received from 
the Elat Mission Station, Africa, in which our class has 
been interested for several years. 

The report states that over 25 schpols, having 2000 
pupils, are supervised from the Elat center; that they cover 
a radius of 50 miles; that all of them are taught by pupils; 
that 600 conversions have been recorded; and that last 
winter they had over 1300 present each Sunday for five 
consecutive weeks. 

The church attendance is still larger; for example, on 
July 4 a communion service was held attended by 3500. 
The church building accommodates 2000, so that 1500 
were compelled to sit outside the building, these listening 
to the message and joining in the singing of the gospel songs. 
At one average Sunday service 2,500 were present, and 
1368 envelopes, containing $81.13, were taken up. 

The Manual Training School has a wonderful record. 
Since January the carpentry class has earned 5200 marks, 
and the tailoring class 2450 marks. They report that the 
demand for the furniture made by the pupils is greater than 
the output. 

Inasmuch as at the last meeting of the officers and teach- 
ers of our school a resolution was passed donating our 
library of 400 books to our mission school, started two 
years ago in North Dakota, we suggest that this class 

178 



THE ADULT CLASS 

offer to pack and ship these books and pay the freight 
charges. 

We desire to call your attention to the interesting 
account of the splendid progress being made in home- 
mission fields in the last issue of our church missionary 
magazine. 

Respectfully submitted, 

(Signed by the secretary.) 

The president "How many of you fellows read our 
church missionary magazine? Raise your hands!" 

A member. "I move that this class subscribe to the 
magazine for the coming year, and that each man be 
given a copy." 

The motion was carried. 

Another member. "While we are subscribing, I move 
that those who do not now take the Adult Class magazine 
of our church should be provided with a copy regularly." 

The motion was«carried. 

The president. "I appreciate the loyalty and the ex- 
cellent manner in which your reports have been prepared 
and presented. They are up to date; you have reduced 
them to writing, and this brings out the very material 
which you want to submit. This is the way we want it 
presented. It is very commendable. Is there anything 
further before we close the business session of the class?" 

On motion, the class adjourned. 

Following the business session, W. G. Landes, secretary 
of the Pennsylvania Sabbath School Association, taught 
the lesson for the following Sunday 



179 



Ill 

THE ADVANTAGES OF FEDERATION 

In many communities the various adult Bible classes 
have been united into federated bodies which are acting 
together for many purposes. Rev. Charles Edward 
Kunkle, whose active connection with federation work 
enables him to speak with authority, has given the state- 
ment made in this chapter of the advantages of federation: 

Three Functions. — ^There are at least three distinct 
though not unrelated functions which the federation idea 
may be made to serve: (1) The Vitalization of Class 
Work; (2) The Lifting of Classes Above Mere Denom- 
inationalism; (3) Making the Classes a Force for Right- 
eousness. 

Vitalizes Class Work. — Federation inspires the indi- 
vidual classes to do better work within themselves. It 
makes possible the pressure of the larger life of the larger 
whole upon the separate parts. Federation enlarges 
the sense of fellowship, which means more power for each 
class unit and also each personal unit. Men work better 
in the things of the Christian life when there is a broad 
fellowship of service. The federation of classes develops 
the sense of mass movement, and thereby helps to hold 
men more steadfastly to their ideals and responsibilities. 
Men are lifted above mere formalism and institutional 
service, focusing their minds upon the individual. 

Federation stands for a more vital sense of brotherhood 
among men. This is essential to effective Bible-class 
work. The weakness of much of our organized work is 

180 



THE ADULT CLASS 

the lack of strong, sustaining fellowship. It must be 
remembered that the individual is not for the organized 
class, but the organized class for the individual. 

The members of our organized classes, as of the church, 
need to live their lives in the sense of the larger whole of 
which they are a part. Isolation, independence, exclu- 
siveness and aloofness, whether as classes or as individuals, 
make impossible vital fellowship and efficient ministry, 
whether in the word of truth or in personal service. The 
presence of these conditions accounts for much of the 
failure of organized classes to give an abundant justifica- 
tion for their existence. 

Lifts Above Mere Denominationalism. — There is great 
need of exhibiting before the world the essential one- 
ness of Christianity. Many have stumbled and many 
are now stumbling over our divisiveness. The subdi- 
vision of Christians into warring and jealous factions has 
little in it to inspire the man who wants to get into the 
way of the kingdom. Many find it difficult to harmonize 
our denominational divisions and spirit with the Chris- 
tianity of Christ. It all seems too much like ^'church- 
anity" instead of Christianity. 

We have been giving splendid demonstrations of our 
common Christian enterprise in the large interdenomina- 
tional conferences and conventions, where representatives 
of the various cooperating Christian bodies have inter- 
preted the work of their several bodies on the higher 
level. But the spirit and sweep of such gatherings have 
not yet made their impress upon those who constitute the 
rank and file of our local communities. Into every local 
center the sense of the larger oneness of Christ's followers 

181 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

needs to be carried and lodged permanently. Instead 
of beating the tom-tom of the denomination we need to 
sound the clarion call of the united kingdom. The Fed- 
eration of Organized Adult Bible Classes is the happy 
method for this service. 

Makes Classes a Force for Righteousness. — ^Men will 
stand more firmly for the interests of righteousness 
when they have the consciousness of fellowship in the in- 
terests of righteousness. Federation serves to put ginger 
into men's Christianity. It will help the weak take posi- 
tion in the ranks of righteousness. It will put a whip of 
cords into men's hands. It will bring into expression the 
note of imperialism in Christianity. It will inspire the 
forces of righteousness to claim their rights to the right 
of way in this worid. It will make men bold for God and 
truth, for justice and purity in politics, business and society. 

A federation of two hundred, three hundred, five 
hundred, one thousand men in any given community 
will accelerate the slow-coming reforms of the community. 
Politicians will respect the wishes of the better element of 
the people when they learn how to assert themselves, as 
the enemies of the good know how to assert their wishes. 
The fear of the Lord will never be realized by those who 
look for personal gain rather than the common welfare, 
until the people of the Lord show their colors and assert 
their rights and strength. The federation of our Bible 
classes is the most practical way to this end. The fear 
of the Lord is the same as the fear of the Lord's people. 
What else has so good a right to be forceful as righteous- 
ness? Surely, it is not a passive thing. It is God ter- 
ribly alive in men for goodness. 

182 



IV 

ORGANIZING AN ADULT BIBLE CLASS FED- 
ERATION 

Washington County, Pennsylvania, is one of the best 
organized adult class territories in the country. There 
are organized Bible classes in many towns. There are 
federations of the town classes in a number of places and 
there is a county union. 

One of the most active of these town federations is that 
at Charleroi, organized in 1909. Concerning this Rev. G. 
G. Kerr has said : 

"Our first effort was to get before the adult classes of 
the district the purpose and also the possibilities of such 
an organization. The chief features emphasized were 
the increase of class membership, a deepening of interest 
in Bible study and the winning of souls to Jesus Christ. 
The federation idea appealed to the most active members 
in all the classes and also to persons who were not at that 
time identified with any Sunday school. 

* 'There is a Membership Committee whose object it is 
to secure by personal canvass the names of all persons 
who have not Joined some class, and to see that all these 
are visited, not once, but many times if necessary, in the 
interest of the Bible school. A marked increase in at- 
tendance in the different schools of the district is an evi- 
dence of the value of this kind of work. 

"The importance of Bible study is strongly urged, not 
only during the class period, but at other times as well. 

183 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

The power of the Word is being felt and many are becom- 
ing interested and active in Christian work who heretofore 
took but httle interest. Men in business are coming to 
realize as never before that Christianity pays for this life 
as well as for the life that is to come, and that the best 
way to make men honest is to give them a vision of Jesus 
Christ. 

^'But the thought most strongly emphasized is that of 
personal evangelistic effort, not merely as a special effort 
during a revival season, but at all times. We recognize 
God's willingness to work through men to save men every- 
where and always. Personal work is urged and, to some 
extent, practiced. The results are manifest. 

"A federation banquet is held occasionally, at which 
time a number of short talks are given by the members 
from the different classes. At one of these banquets such 
topics as The Value of Men,' ^Man's Duty to His Church,' 
'Man as a Social Being,' The Value of Federation' and 
*My Part in Federation' were discussed. More than a 
hundred men were present at this banquet; the speakers 
and some of those most active were men who were at- 
tracted to the work because the different classes showed 
they meant business." 

This simple constitution of the federation is a model: 

Article I. Name 
The Federation of Adult Bible Classes of Charleroi 
District. 

Article n. Object 
To increase the enrollment of men in the adult Bible 
classes so that their influence may be used to interest 
others, young and old, in Bible study, church membership, 
personal and civic betterment. 

184 



THE ADULT CLASS 

Article HI. Membership 

Membership in this federation shall consist of all male 
members of adult Bible classes in Charleroi District and all 
men who are officially associated with Sunday-school work. 

Article IV. Officers 

The officers of this federation shall consist of president, 
vice president, secretary, assistant secretary and treasurer. 

Article V. Committees 

The committees shall consist of a Membership, Social 
and Entertainment, Devotional and Civic. 

Article VL Duties of Officers and Committees 

Duties of officers shall be those usually expected in said 
capacities. 

Duties of committees shall be : Membership — ^To devise 
and execute ways and means of increasing the member- 
ship of the federation. 

Social and Entertainment — ^To provide suitable enter- 
tainment for the meetings of the federation. 

Devotional — To devise means for furthering class or- 
ganization, for the betterment of class plans and methods 
of soul-winning. 

Civic — ^To devise means of eliminating vice and pro- 
moting the social betterment and the elevation of our 
fellow man in his civic life. 

Article VII. Amendments 

This constitution may be amended at any regular meet- 
ing by a two-thirds vote of the members present, notice 
of such proposed amendment having been given at least 
one month previous to action. 



185 



ONE TOWN FEDERATION AT WORK 

These minutes of one meeting of a small town federation 
give many hints to those who desire to undertake similar 
work: 

The Membership Committee of the federation, con- 
sisting of representatives of nearly all the classes enrolled, 
had a meeting on Sunday afternoon. 

A careful study and analysis of the results of the house- 
to-house visitation leads us to the conclusion that there 
are from twelve hundred to fifteen hundred persons in 
the town, over sixteen years of age, who are not members 
or regular attendants of any of the Sunday schools. We 
believe that this is a conservative statement. It amounts 
to a challenge to the federation. To seek to win at least 
a thousand of these to active fellowship in the Sunday 
schools during the next year is the task which your com- 
mittee would lay upon the classes of this federation. 

We desire also to call the attention of the federation 
to the low standard of attendance in many, if not all, of 
the classes. There seems to be on the part of many 
members of the classes a lack of serious regard of their 
class membership. Too many are enrolled who attend 
only casually. Thus the efficiency of class organization 
is seriously impaired. It is our duty, if possible, to raise 
the percentage of attendance, in order that a more sat- 
isfactory standard of efficiency may be achieved. Regu- 
larity in attendance is essential to efficient class work. 
Membership involves the obligation of constancy in the 
matter of attendance. 

186 



THE ADULT CLASS 

In view of these conditions before us, we present for 
your acceptance the following propositions, with the view 
of stimulating the proper effort on the part of all the classes 
to bring about a larger ingathering of men and women into 
the fellowship of the Sunday schools, and a higher standard 
of attendance. We sincerely believe that our classes 
can attain a much higher state of efficiency than that en- 
joyed at present. 

We, therefore, propose that the classes of the federation 
engage in a campaign of effort, touching the conditions in 
question. We recommend that the campaign begin with 
March 1 and close June 15, and that the following stan- 
dards of efficiency be adopted: 

Percentage of Attendance. — ^To stimulate regularity 
of attendance we propose to institute a roll of honor, 
assigning the classes, according to their percentage of 
attendance, to one of the following divisions: (A) Front 
Line Classes — All achieving, for the period in question, 
an attendance of eighty per cent. (B) Star Classes — All 
achieving an attendance of seventy per cent. And (C) 
Banner Classes — ^All having an attendance of fifty-five 
per cent. 

Your committee recognizes that these are low standards; 
but we believe they are sufficiently high for a beginning. 

Your committee recommends also that in working out 
the percentage of attendance only those be counted bona 
fide members who shall have been present at least once 
each month after the date of enrollment. 

Your committee also requests that at the end of the 
campaign the records of the classes be given up to the 
Membership Committee of the federation to determine 

187 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

the percentage of attendance, in order that uniformity 
may be guaranteed. 

Percentage of Increase of Membership. — ^Since there 
are so many in the town who are without the fellow- 
ship of our Sunday schools, the classes of the federation 
should experience a steady growth in numbers until all 
the available material has either been assimilated or 
thoroughly tested. We recommend, therefore, that the 
classes be ranked at the end of the period of campaign 
according to their efficiency in w^inning new members on 
the basis of the percentage of increase in membership over 
the enrollment at the beginning of the period. 

Per Capita Offering. — ^We believe that there is need 
of larger offerings by the members of our classes to 
the support of our Sunday schools. Too many are 
bringing inadequate offerings. The penny conception of 
the Sunday school should speedily be banished. We 
believe that the measure of our offerings vitally affects 
the efficiency of our classes. We propose, therefore, to 
institute a roll of honor of classes according to their per 
capita offerings during the period of the campaign, the 
per capita rank of the classes to be based on their attend- 
ance rather than the membership of the classes. 

If these recommendations and propositions are accepted 
by the federation to-day, it is the intention of your com- 
mittee to arrange in conjunction with either the Com- 
mittee on Public Meetings or the Social Committee a 
meeting of the federation as soon as possible after June 
15, when the results of the campaign will be made known 
and the honors awarded in some appropriate manner. 

188 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WOEK 



VII 
THE TEACHER-TRAINING CLASS 

BY 

Rev. franklin McELFRESH, Ph.D. 



189 



THE TEACHER-TRAINING CLASS 



A PERSONAL WORD 

Are you looking forward to teaching in the Sunday 
school? Then you ought to have some months of earnest 
study for this fine task. Christian educators, speaking 
through the Committee on Education of the International 
Sunday School Association, have set a standard that is 
in their judgment within the reach of all preparing to teach, 
and is the least that any teacher who is thoroughly in 
earnest in desiring to do successful work will ask. Two 
courses are provided, as follows: 

I. First Standard Course. — ^The minimum requirements 
for this course are : Fifty lesson periods, of which at least 
twenty lessons shall be devoted to the study of the Bible, 
and at least seven lessons to the pupil, seven lessons to 
the teacher and seven lessons to the Sunday school. 
The remaining nine lessons may be devoted to any of the 
above required subjects. 

n. Advanced Standard Course. — ^The minimum require- 
ments for this course are: One hundred lesson periods, 
with a minimum of forty lessons devoted to the study of 
the Bible, ten lessons to the pupil, ten lessons to the 
teacher, ten lessons to the Sunday school, ten lessons to 

191 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

church history and ten lessons to missions. The remain- 
ing ten lessons may be devoted to any of the above re- 
quired subjects. These are minimum requirements — 
the very least that will meet a reasonable demand, but 
earnest students in preparation for successful work are 
not satisfied with the smallest, they seek the best. For 
thorough work two years are needed for the First Stand- 
ard Course and three years for the Advanced Standard 
Course. 

In enrolling for these courses you have the privilege 
of joining a class that meets at the Sunday-school hour 
under a teacher interested in this great theme. This is 
perhaps the best way, for thus you will be in the main 
current of Sunday-school life, and will be enabled to put 
your thought upon this work alone. Or you may meet 
with a class of teachers on a week day, and can then be 
called upon to put your newly learned lessons into practice 
in the Sunday work of the school. If, however, it is im- 
possible to become a member of a class meeting on Sun- 
day or during the week, you may still take the course of 
study alone, receiving your examination questions and 
securing your diploma precisely as if the work were done 
in class. There are thousands of men and women studying 
secular courses in this way to-day. The University of 
Wisconsin has several thousand students using this 
method in the study of subjects like economics, sociology 
and literature. Doctors and lawyers thus strive to keep 
up with the advance of their professions by extra studies. 
Why should not the student preparing to teach the Bible 
show a like energy? Without a deep and fixed purpose, 
without a real offering of the life to Christ, Sunday-school 
teaching will have little of joy in it and can be crowned 

192 



THE TEACHER-TRAINING CLASS 

with but small success; but if his call is ringing clear and 
insistent in the heart, preparation for intelligent teaching 
lies within the reach of any student, even the most lonely. 

As soon as you show a willing heart your surprise will 
be great at finding the numbers who hasten to bid you 
welcome. There are few Sunday schools where the su- 
perintendent and pastor are not prayerfully anxious for 
more trained teachers; then the welcome given by the 
teachers already enjoying the rich experiences of this de- 
lightful service will soon prove to you what a noble com- 
panionship awaits you among those dealing with the 
younger life. Few ties of friendship are closer knit or more 
lasting than those formed by common interest in this 
sacred volunteer service. 

You will find that the Sunday-school world of to-day is 
a very live, energetic and brilliant realm, and no true 
spirit entering its ample gateways need fear loneliness of 
heart or narrowness of brain. It is a land of brave, 
strong men, many of whom have thought long and deep; 
of true-hearted women who have enriched it with the 
mystic endowment of their love and brightened its darkest 
places with their clear-eyed faith. Open your heart to 
your fellow teachers, mingle with the groups and throngs 
at assembly and convention, open your brain to the 
writers, ever alert to learn of and solve new problems, 
and scanning the horizon of the kingdom for news of fresh 
victories of the cross, and you will not be likely to lose 
heart or be lonesome in the Sunday-school world. 



193 



II 



THE PLAN 

The teacher-training work is fourfold. Provision is 
made for a study of: 

1. The Bible. 

2. The pupil. 

3. The teacher. 

4. The organization of the Sunday school. 

A careful reading of the next four chapters will show how 
important it is that none of these subjects be omitted, and 
how attractive is the fourfold plan. 



194 



Ill 

THE BIBLE 

Study the Bible: Not Merely About the Bible.— You 
are to learn to think big thoughts about the Bible, to let 
the eye search its vast landscapes, to catch glimpses of 
the mountain peaks along the way. You are to catch 
the messages of the books, a whole book at a time. You 
are to learn to look into the faces of the great men of the 
Bible, to know their features and become familiar with 
them. You are to travel up and down the land until you 
will no more be lost in Galilee or the streets of Jerusalem 
than in the roads of your home neighborhood or the ave- 
nues of your own city. The careful study of the helps 
in Bible geography which we have to-day will make the 
Holy Land well-trodden ground for us. Lew Wallace 
wrote the accurate and realistic descriptions of "Ben-Hur" 
before he had ever seen the Orient; he had nothing but the 
printed page and the map. You, too, can make some 
delightful home excursions into Palestine if you will use 
the stereoscope and stereograph. 

Historical Outline. — ^You can learn to put each book in 
the true setting with its sixty-five companions. Each 
one fits into its place in the historical development with 
as much nicety as the pieces of a locomotive. When you 
thus look over the Bible history it will become no longer 
a mass of scraps and fragments, as it too often seems to 
the teacher, but each life will be seen as a link in a chain, 

195 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

and you will find delight in tracing out the long prepara- 
tions for advance, and in searching for God^s chosen agents 
in carrying them out. These men walk for a moment in 
the illumined path of God's mighty ongoing, and when 
you see each one under this divine light Bible history will 
be one of the most fascinating studies in the world. 

Richness of the Bible. — ^The Bible is so many-sided that 
anyone who comes with open mind must find some line of 
intense interest in it. Are you a student of hterature? 
Then study the Bible, and you will wonder at the supreme 
literary values hidden in these old-time words. You will 
catch the poetic grandeur of the Old Testament, the rugged 
loftiness of the prophets and the simple yet vivid force 
of the New Testament. 

Or perhaps the dramatic side of the Bible will appeal 
to you even more — ^its penetration into the secrets of the 
heart as revealed by the life story of saints and sinners. 
The Book discloses the most powerfully drawn charac- 
ters of all time. They march acrosss its stage with 
their hearts open and naked to the eye. We get to know 
them as we know no living people. 

A Living Message. — But the spiritual message of the 
Bible must be its crowning value to you, as it has ever 
been to men of all kinds and conditions. When you see 
it as a real history, and ask what was the feeling and pur- 
pose of this man whose word lies open before you, you will 
have a new message from the Book. Ask: Why did 
Paul write his letter to the Philippians? What stirred a 
farmer like Amos to speak before the king of Israel? 
What was the religious experience behind the poetry of the 

196 



THE TEACHER-TRAINING CLASS 

Thirty-second Psalm? What was the inner Hfe of John 
before he wrote the Fourth Gospel? Get as close as you 
can to these living men and you will find the Bible con- 
stantly unfolding before you. 

Personal Study. — As you get into this closer personal 
relation to the writers of the Bible by a study of Bible 
history, geography, manners and customs, and as you put 
each man in his own real place, then will it become more 
than ever the living word of God spoken to men, an experi- 
ence in another human heart revealed to you for your 
guidance. For this intimate knowledge you will need 
to study maps and also to draw them with your own hand. 
You will need more than mere reading — careful study and 
some memory drills, frequent and sometimes taxing re- 
views will be a necessity. The Bible cannot be mastered 
by cheap devices or hasty lessons. There is a develop- 
ment throughout the whole book, and the mind must grow 
with the study of it and allow time for the sublimest con- 
ceptions that have ever been uttered in human speech 
to imprint themselves upon the brain. Do not make 
haste with your Bible study. Can you comprehend the 
ocean at a glance? Do not the mountains grow larger 
before your eyes with the years? Does not the sky spread 
wider and vaster before the eye of the astronomer? Take 
time to catch the secret of the Bible. 

Teaching Values of the Bible. — Many earnest Bible 
students fail as teachers of the Bible because they have 
not considered the teaching values of the Bible. The 
Graded Lessons are making the value of the Bible in the 
education of the young far clearer to us than it has been 

197 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

before. There is a Bible for the Httle child and a Bible 
for the older child, there are pages full of great hero 
stories — the noblest, strongest ever told — that appeal to 
youth, and there are mighty messages that meet the years 
of doubt and unrest of young manhood and womanhood. 
There are chapters and books which can be comprehended 
and whose value can be known only in mature life. The 
adaptation of the Bible to the need of each period of life 
and to particular persons and classes is one of the tests 
and triumphs of teaching skill, and one of the fine results 
that follow a careful study of the Bible with the pupil 
in mind. 



198 



IV 

THE PUPIL 

New Interest in Child Study. — Is there any need of 
studying the pupil? I hear a very plain and common- 
sense teacher say some scornful things about pedagogy and 
psychology; then this elderly person says his mother knew 
something about training children, and she never heard 
these four-story words. And he says, moreover, there was 
some teaching of the Bible in his own boyhood days, and 
that the teacher was a man who won his whole class of 
boys to Christ without any of this modern machinery. 
Now all this is true enough; the power of earnest souls to 
touch the life is above all rules. The swift messages of 
love fly to the heart in flashes no pen can describe. But 
is there nothing to learn? Why, the men who have been 
digging radium out of the old earth these last ten years 
had something new to tell us, and those keen observers 
who found a way to send messages a thousand miles 
through the air without wires had something new to tell 
us. And, do you not think the human soul has as much 
undiscovered treasure as the earth and the air? The men 
and the women who have watched and prayed and loved 
are discoverers in the newly found pathways of the soul 
just as truly as the men who found radium and wireless 
telegraphy. There is some real and well-proved knowledge 
about the unfolding and the workings of the human mind 
that can be gained from books. The great students and 
teachers of the inner life have not worked in vain. There 

199 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

is much to learn that is clear and precious. Many a 
guidepost has been set up along the roadway by travelers 
who have gone before us. Psychology cannot be brushed 
aside as a fad, nor pedagogy be laughed at as a tiresome 
set of rules. Into books on these subjects some of the 
wisest and noblest men have poured the gold of their ex- 
perience and insight, and it would be as wise to refuse 
to cross the river on a steel bridge as to refuse to use the 
pathway their long labor has made smooth. 

Need of Insight.— What do you think about the little 
child? Are you to pour information into his mind? Or are 
you to guide him by kindly suggestion and gracious influ- 
ence? Do you think of him as a real, living, active soul, 
sure to express himself in some way? There are discus- 
sions in the pages of the master teachers about attention 
and interest and point of contact that are akin to genius 
in their suggestions. How many eager, hungry teachers 
there are who are gaining new joy and new power by the 
words shouted back to them from the heights by the great 
pathfinders who have gone before! 

A certain reverence and wondering love for childhood 
comes with our true study of it and our loving contact 
with it. The capacity for religion is a birthright of an 
infant soul. He is God's child, not an angel, but a very 
human sort of little being, aglow with fresh and marvel- 
ous activity. The best we can do is to begin knocking 
at the door of the senses. We bring color, motion and 
sweet sounds as inducements. We do not create anything. 
We simply lure these playing and pattering feet, hurrying 
every moment somewhere, to the best pathways. All 
kindergarten workers have learned the secret of turning 

200 



THE TEACHER-TRAINING CLASS 

play into life values for the years to come, and this gentle 
secret must be caught by all who would look into the tear- 
ful or smiling faces of beginners. It is the woman's art, 
and her subtle power has no richer field of service outside 
the home than with the beginners in the Sunday school. 

Need of Sympathy. — The child lives in a fairyland and 
only touches this dull earth for bread-and-butter reasons, 
and you cannot step upon his magical carpet unless you 
have a story in your mouth. Prepare to be a story-teller 
if you would teach the child in the primary room. It is 
becoming a part of a great quest nowadays to find the 
home of the old-time story-tellers who lived back nearer 
the morning time of the earth. Brick pavements and 
street cars and the hard-grind, practical, western life have 
carried us far away from them. We want to moralize 
and reason and talk about the abstract, but the child will 
not have it. He listens with gasping of breath to stories. 
He wants to feel the magical touch of his own fairyland. 
Now the Bible is the richest storehouse of ancient story- 
lore. It is full of adventures; it has wonderful pictures 
of people; its stories are short and pointed and powerful, 
but we must learn the art of telling them. We must 
learn to turn them into the everyday speech of childhood. 
We must bring these little dramas of the old Hebrew 
world right down to the life of to-day. 

Importance of the Junior Years. — In the later period 
of work the junior boy or girl longs for heroes and heroines. 
It may be that the boys and girls have dull ears for preach- 
ing or for moral axioms. But they are intensely inter- 
ested in actual people and, very often, in ideal folks as 

201 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

well. They are ablaze with sentiment and all on fire 
for brave men and beautiful women and for adventure 
and activity. Prepare to people their shadow land with 
the real type of hero and heroine. The teacher and pupil 
are often in the same room and yet a thousand miles apart. 
The teacher is talking about goodness and righteousness 
and the boy is day-dreaming about baseball pitchers and 
maybe prize fighters, or the girl is probably thinking 
of heiresses and queens. Now the teacher must find 
some path by which he can reach the mind and they two 
can come together. He must begin to talk about some 
one in whom they are both interested. 

Christian Heroes. — Put the heroes of modern missions, 
the stories of the strong men of mighty deeds who have 
lived and left their names upon the pages of Christian 
history, side by side with the bravery and manliness told 
of in the Bible. Hunt for the nobler side of life to-day. 
There is no lack of it, and the search for them will soon 
bring to light stories of courage and self-denial and Chris- 
tian faith that will stir the blood and win the heart of 
the young life to which you are speaking. The teacher 
should live in a world peopled with noble characters, ever 
using the finest womanhood of the present and the men 
who are doing sublime things to illumine the Bible types 
of character. Learn the stories of Luther and Knox and 
Wesley, of Whitman, of Pere Marquette, of Paton and 
the many others who are worthy to be ranked in this class 
of daring, self-sacrificing men. 

Memory's golden period is here, and you can readily 
freight the mind with the choicest words from the Bible, 
with the nobler Christian poetry and the hero stories of 

202 



THE TEACHER-TRAINING CLASS 

the Christian ages. John Ruskin's mother caused him, 
when he was a boy, to commit to memory twenty-six 
chapters of the Bible on Sunday afternoons. She chose 
the great chapters. In his later years Ruskin said of 
this, "In doing this she estabUshed my soul in life.'' 
To these chapters, stored in memory, he attributed much 
of the rhythm and dignity of his matchless prose. 

Leadership for the Teen Years.— There come now the 
days when the child rushes through the trying interme- 
diate years to the fascinating period of youth. The child 
life is flung aside with disdain, the face is forward, the 
form lifts, shoulders and chest expand, the brain gathers 
new force, the will shows signs of revolt. This is the com- 
ing of the individual into his kingdom. Contradictions 
and contrasts now bewilder the teacher. The awkward 
boy and the shy girl strengthen and bloom. It is the 
springtime of life, the day for seed-sowing, the day of 
March blizzards and April showers. It is the time of 
lasting impressions from a single word, of sweet friendships 
and sharp aversions, of gloomy doubts and quick decisions. 
As the days of fourteen to sixteen come, the crossroads 
of life lie straight across the way of our young people. 
Shall they turn to the right or to the left, to error and sin 
and shame, or to right living and earnest purpose and the 
joy of service? 

The privilege of influence right now is one of the richest 
ever offered the parent, the friend, the teacher and the 
pastor. Authority is much a thing of the past, for these 
young souls want to try their wings in the morning air 
and are eager for its storms and allured by its whirlwinds. 
This is the time for strong words, for personal, heart-to- 

203 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

heart talks, for positive soul-winning, and for frank and 
wise meeting of questions and answering of doubts kindly 
and fairly. Put forth all your strength and skill now to 
win them to Christ, for these are the golden days, and like 
opportunities will never come again. 

To show you how to understand the pupil — ^his needs, 
his likes and dislikes, his aptitudes and the workings of 
his mind — ^is the purpose of the second part of the four- 
fold plan of teacher training. 



204 



THE TEACHER 

Can the Teaching Art Be Learned? — Have these busy- 
years that have turned the world upside down in so many 
ways brought any new hght on the methods of teaching? 
The business man now is hurrying from city to city by the 
Hmited trains. The physician is eagerly seeking in the 
hospital the latest method for healing men. The farmer 
is buying new machinery that will enable one man to do 
the work of ten. How shall the teacher of rehgion seek 
for new and best ways of approach to the human heart? 

Feel your pupil's need. This lies at the very root of the 
matter. It is easy to see that a class of six-year-old 
pupils need some guidance, and yet how often we think 
that they grow up and become men and women just as 
nature framed them! Nobody is born a person. Person- 
ality is slowly achieved. It could never arise apart from 
social influence. Somebody draws forth the possibilities 
of every human soul that really achieves anything. With- 
out this direct contact of brain with brain and heart with 
heart the nobler life can never be gained. Fine souls do 
not grow alone; they are cultivated. They are the results 
of older lives close to them. There are really no self- 
made souls, just as there are no truly self-taught pupils. 
Now some best possible part of the life depends upon just 
what you teach. That is the dignity of teaching. This 
influence is clearer when we stand before childhood. But 
you are called to teach young men or to be the guide of 
middle-aged people, and your mind is still the one pre- 
pared, positive, leading force in that group. You cannot 

205 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

measure the possible development in those minds before 
you. You do not know what riches lie close to the sur- 
face, but whatever hidden wealth there is will come by 
some one's seeking it. The higher your regard for those 
before you, the deeper you feel the need of helping them 
express themselves. They will never realize their true 
selves without some one's aid. Why should not you be 
the one? Every lump of gold was brought to light by 
some miner's pick. Every soul was won by some one. 
And you know not the day nor the hour when a supreme 
religious opportunity lies before you. 

Learn to Impart New Ideas.— Find the open door to 
the pupil's mind. A cotton-spinner stands before the 
shuttles flying too swiftly for the eye, yet somehow he 
brings out the well-spun cloth. You, the teacher, stand 
before ten or twenty flying shuttles of thought, not held 
in well-ordered grooves, but flying wildly in strange tangles. 
How are you to weave the fabric of your day's lesson from 
these threads? how secure attention? how persuade them 
all to think one thing? how bring everyone to your train 
of thought? Draw them together by illustration. *^ou 
tell us well enough what things are," said the plain- 
spoken and eager woman to the minister, "but you do not 
tell us what they are like." "Without a parable spake 
he not unto them." From the stories to beginners to the 
stories for the oldest students, the mind needs the challenge 
of imagination, of incident, of cases from real Hfe, of 
something that draws it quickly to the point. 

Know your message from the Bible. Have it clear and 
well thought out, so that it offers a plain track for the mind 
when once you catch the flying shuttle. Have one great 

206 



THE TEACHER-TRAINING CLASS 

truth in every lesson. Believe it yourself, repeat it, 
look at it from many sides, review it, illustrate it, enforce 
it, make it so clear they cannot forget it. 

Out of the Heart. — Impart yourself. Be sure you can- 
not tell what is not clear to you. You cannot persuade 
others to believe what is in doubt in your mind. Think 
your way through, pray until the lesson becomes yours 
and speak out of the authority of your own faith. This is 
the secret of success with so many unlearned teachers. 
It is the power of the positive and assured soul to impart 
itself. Face your doubts till you settle them in your own 
breast. Study your questions until you have reasonable 
answers. Put your lesson in order till it is clear to you, 
and then teach from the heart. 

Need of Aim.— Dr. Chapman says: "A flippant teacher 
might turn a child forever against sacred things. A 
careless teacher might in one sentence plant in a little life 
a seed which would produce in after years a harvest of 
all that is bad, while an unsaved teacher might be the 
cause of the loss of a soul. At the same time, a faithful, 
consecrated, godly teacher might in one lesson lead a 
pupil to Christ, and in that one add a nation to the king- 
dom of God. I have in mind a missionary who has made 
continents glow with the glory of God, a minister who has 
led thousands to a better Christian experience and an 
evangelist who has led tens of thousands to the Master, 
all of these workers having been led to Christ as boys in 
the Sunday school, the teacher being used of God to reach 
them." 

Would you be such a teacher? Can you make a better 
start than by enrolling for the course in teacher training? 

207 



VI 

THE SCHOOL 

A Real School. — ^The teacher-training class is usually 
the only group giving any actual study to the principles 
and methods guiding the Sunday school. It should on 
account of such study be rich in ideals and fertile in prac- 
tical suggestions. It should have an immediate influence 
on the school at work in its own church, and outline an 
aggressive policy for the future. The Sunday school as an 
institution is now in process of rapid development and con- 
sequently in a state of constant unrest. The introduction 
of more strictly educational methods raises many problems. 
Graded schools and graded lessons cannot be reached by 
passing a resolution and a wave of the hand; they are 
gained after months and years of faithful work. The 
Sunday school is no longer a formless group of classes 
studying the same lessons; it is a school, it recognizes 
growth and so constant progress, it recognizes a climax 
and so a graduation from its earlier classes, it recognizes 
the training of grown Christians for service. 

I. Study of Organization. — What is the form of organi- 
zation most successful in the judgment of teachers of ex- 
perience? There is a fair agreement now upon the require- 
ments of a standard school. Why have these grades, 
departments and divisions been adopted? What is the 
working plan, and what is the final aim of the Sunday 
school? 

208 



THE TEACHER-TRAINING CLASS 

1. Study the organization in a number of the best recent 
books and discuss freely. Keep clearly in mind the fact 
that religious education has a great mission and must 
use the best methods approved by the experience of the 
leaders in education. 

2. Study the application in the best schools within 
reach by observation. Report on these to the class, and 
discuss. 

3. Study the organization in regard to "Our School." 
Is it a large or small school, a city, town or country school? 
In what way can our school become a complete working 
organization, using its forces efficiently to produce the 
highest possible results in winning pupils to Christ and 
building Christian character? 

In such a study the whole work from Cradle Roll to 
Adult Department must be carefully considered and its 
possibilities noted. This will often be a discovery, a work 
of faith rather than a description of present activities; it 
is both an insight and an outlook. 

4. Make a special study of weak points. In the Sunday- 
school work as a whole certain parts have been made 
stronger than others. The Primary Department has been 
far ahead and the Intermediate Department has been 
the break in the line, while the Adult Department by 
organized classes has shown the most rapid recent devel- 
opment. The size of the school has shown rapid growth. 
There are many large schools far beyond the enrollment 
reported in other years. How have these advances been 
made? What methods have been tried and tested that 
we may be sure of them? For instance, the boys' classes 
in the Intermediate Department and boys' activities for 
week-day work are now holding the center of interest. 

209 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

What has been offered by the leaders in the "teen" years 
to produce this splendid enthusiasm and to secure such 
substantial results? 

How are these boys' organizations related to the other 
departments, such as the junior, the adult, the girls' organ- 
ization? Study organization in the training class, so that 
you will not be satisfied with a mere outUne on paper, but 
seek the latest news from the firing line and ask how these 
victories can be repeated in our schools. 

II. The School and the Community. — ^The Sunday 
school must be studied in its wider relation if we are to 
know its true dignity and its real mission. 

1. How is it related to other organizations? What are 
the public schools teaching in morals and what is the result 
in the life of their pupils? In what measure are they 
meeting the needs of the spiritual nature? What coopera- 
tion can we have by clear understanding? 

2. What other religious and charitable organizations 
are at work, such as the Christian Associations, the United 
Charities, etc.? 

3. What are the conditions and influences in regard to 
play life, amusement, recreation for children and young 
people? 

4. How far have the different Sunday schools united 
in a social survey of the community? Are they aiming 
to reach and teach all Protestant childhood and youth? 

5. What is our school doing in trying to reach those 
without religious instruction? What is it doing for the 
larger life of the community? What is the next duty that 
lies open to it? 



210 



THE TEACHER-TRAINING CLASS 

ni. Worship. — Make a careful study of the Sunday 
school in regard to worship. 

1. Is the opening exercise merely an introduction for 
the sake of calling the members together and securing 
quiet in the lesson period, or is it truly a time of reverent 
and inspiring song and prayer. 

2. Study the hymns and tunes used. Are they fitted 
to the pupils and to the hour? Have they the spirit and 
loftiness of real hymns of praise? 

3. Is there instruction in regard to worship, public and 
private, by the teachers? Do the pupils take part in the 
worship, or do they only look on? 

4. Is there a temper and atmosphere in the school in 
which the teacher can instruct with a view to Christian 
progress in the mind of childhood, and in which we can 
win to Christ and develop Christian character in later 
years? 

Finally, is our school promoting and teaching a high 
type of Christian manhood and womanhood? 

These are only a few of the suggestive questions which 
ought to be asked in any class and studied with care by 
every group of teachers, but they indicate the constructive 
type of work possible in a training class. 



211 



VII 
HOW TO AWAKEN INTEREST 

The Need. — No one need call attention to the deficiency 
in the number of well-prepared teachers in the Sunday 
school. It is acknowledged by everyone; yet, while the 
need is felt, it is not fully considered. Until the work of 
the teacher in the school is studied more carefully by the 
churches there will not be any rapid increase in numbers. 
Until more thorough and adequate plans are laid and 
generously supported by the churches there cannot be 
any satisfactory development in the method and efficiency 
in teaching. The past five years have seen the Sunday 
school advance more than any agency of the Church, but 
as yet we are only at the beginning of a great movement 
in religious education. The teaching ministry of the 
Church has been left in large measure to the public school; 
but now, as the Bible is more and more denied place in 
the schools of the State, the Church must enter seriously 
upon the great work which belonged to it in the early 
centuries. 

A Committee on Education. — A Committee on Educa- 
tion in each local church is the more effective way to make 
the work of training teachers thorough and permanent. 
This committee should be selected with care, and, with the 
pastor and superintendent, be charged with the care for 
courses of study and organization and plans for better- 
ment of the Sunday school. Such a committee can give 
vigor and stability to the teacher-training class. This 
class is not a mere incident nor subject to the passing en- 

212 



THE TEACHER-TRAINING CLASS 

thusiasm of a group; it is a part of the essential and 
regular organization of the school, and deserves support 
and encouragement from the whole authority and mem- 
bership of the church. 

A thoughtful Educational Committee will be aware 
that the training of Sunday-school teachers is the very 
life of the church. Three hundred thousand teachers 
and officers enter upon their duties anew every year in 
America. Upon the quality of the leadership and teach- 
ing of these beginners depends a very large part of the 
success or failure of the kingdom of Christ in our land. 
Nothing but a great and truly educational system of train- 
ing will meet the demand of the day. 

The local committee must cooperate with the central 
boards of the churches and put itself in line to promote 
training of the high character approved in methods and 
textbooks by the Sunday-school authorities of its own 
denomination. 

The Efficiency Test.— The Educational Committee 
should first turn with the pastor, superintendent and teach- 
ers to a study of its own school. Let us suppose that with 
time and care an eflficiency test like the following were 
applied : 

1. What is the enrollment by ages and departments of 
our school? 

2. What is the average attendance? How does it differ 
in ages, departments and sexes? 

3. Have we a system of reports by which we can test 
the results of our work? 

4. Are the lessons of our school fitted to the pupils in 
each department? 

213 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

5. Is there a wise and careful attention to the spiritual 
needs of the younger pupils? 

6. Is there any definite plan for instruction in Christian 
service and personal evangelism for the older pupils? 

7. Are the teachers chosen with special regard to their 
fitness for the different departments? 

8. Have we enough well-prepared teachers for the classes 
in the ''teen" years? 

9. Have we an adequate plan for training the pros- 
pective teachers? 

10. How far is our school meeting the real needs of the 
community? How far are we preparing for growth? 

Awakening the Church. — By such study of both the 
needs at large and the local conditions, a small group — 
the Educational Committee, the pastor and Sunday- 
school workers — ^will be brought face to face with the 
actual problems. They will be alive and eager for work. 

Their next task is to appeal to the whole church, to 
awaken an educational conscience, a sense of responsi- 
bility for religious teaching. Heretofore the Sunday 
school itself has been left to a few willing and noble work- 
ers, and the teacher-training class 'has been in a corner. 
The school was one of the smaller interests in the church, 
and the training was a small interest of the Sunday 
school. 

The training of the leaders of the church must rest 
upon the heart of its whole membership, and when once 
it is felt as a loving interest a long advance will be made. 
Some public presentation should be made to instruct 
the congregation. The pastor can preach on the new 
problems and new duties arising in our modern society 

214 



THE TEACHER-TRAINING CLASS 

in regard to religious education. The ignorance of the 
Bible among high-school and college students will give 
him a theme. The fact that one-third of the children 
and youth of school age in the United States are not under 
any system of religious training will give him a second 
theme. The interest in child study, in education and in 
the effort to promote child welfare in the nation will 
suggest much for the church and its half -neglected tasks. 

After the pulpit message, some clear and earnest pres- 
entation should be made to the church authorities and 
to the local Sunday-school Council or to a group meeting 
of all the workers. All these are plans to arouse interest. 

But the awakened conscience of the church will come 
from a sense of need. The deep conviction that a great 
duty lies at the door may be relied upon to produce action. 
When the whole church once believes that it must enter 
upon the work of religious education as a business, then 
time and money and organization will come to the Sunday 
school as the supreme teaching and evangelistic oppor- 
tunity. 

The Training Class Does Not Live to Itself.— This 
broad foundation in strong, intelligent sentiment pervad- 
ing the religious community gives dignity and permanence 
to the training class. It can never have a true, healthy 
life to itself. Treated as a good thing, it prospers for a 
time under some earnest individual and then declines: 
given deep root in the affections and convictions of the 
religious leaders, it is guided and inspired to make sacri- 
fice during long weeks of preparation, it is greeted with 
a generous appreciation on public occasions, and its mem- 
bers are treated as the leaders of the Church of the future. 

215 



vm 

TRAINING THE TEACHERS OF TO-MORROW 

The Class at the Sunday-school Hour. — "We shall 
never have enough teachers," says Frank L. Brown, 
"unless we begin to train them before they are eighteen." 
We may begin as early as fifteen at times with bright and 
earnest pupils. As they are ready for promotion from the 
Intermediate to the Senior Department the choice should 
be made carefully. There are many reasons why this is a 
favorable time. The day of rapid acquiring has come; 
the altruistic spirit stirs; the day of deep thoughtfulness 
and inquiry is at hand; leadership and service are words 
to conjure with; they are ready for wider range of interests 
and study, and they desire to manage their own organi- 
zations. 

We are slow to learn the strength of these later adoles- 
cent years. The Young Men's Christian Association 
and the leaders in the Secondary Division work of the 
Sunday school unite in telling us that we can have as many 
younger boys in the schools as we have older boy teachers. 
The senior girl will often be the teacher of the younger 
girls and the senior boy the leader of the lads in the future, 
and we had better prepare for it. They are not the most 
skillful teachers in handling a lesson, but they are close to 
the week-day life, the zest and joy of the earlier teens; 
they can appeal to the boy and girl and win the heart 
because they still know the secrets of youth. They have 
not the wisdom of the years, but they possess the magic 

216 



THE TEACHER-TRAINING CLASS 

words by which they can enter where older feet are seldom 
allowed to tread. Such work of young teachers must be 
under careful supervision and guidance, but it must be 
provided for if we are to save our schools from the fearful 
waste and loss we have suffered in the years after fourteen. 

The Home School the Best Training School. — If such 
delicate and difficult tasks are to be the work of the young 
teachers, then we must begin to train them early. The 
Sunday school itself is the best elementary training school. 
Students in a class in the school are in touch with all its 
activities. They are in the atmosphere of work and see 
its problems before their eyes. They can give time more 
readily and regularly than at a week-day hour, and they 
feel that the work is not separate and peculiar, but is an 
advanced course of study belonging to the school itself. 

The youth is always looking far away. The lure of 
work and college, the distant city and far-off fields are 
in his thoughts. If we do not begin the training for ser- 
vice at home. It will seldom be taken up later. But if 
young people are committed to definite Christian activity, 
if they are in training for some work which they feel fitted 
to do, then they are far more likely to pursue a course of 
study or take up active work in new surroundings. 

Sometimes our faithful teachers in the country and 
smaller towns complain that it avails little to organize 
and train, because their students are lost in such numbers 
to the home church. But on second thought they count 
it a joy to contribute workers and leaders to the kingdom 
afar off, and to safeguard the life of the ambitious young 
people who go forth by binding them early to definite and 
congenial tasks. 

217 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

A great number of the strongest men and women in the 
churches to-day are only carrying out the plans they began 
early in some humble church. If the visions and day- 
dreams of youth have not the far-off fields of heroic Chris- 
tian service in view, there will be few years of mature 
devotion to great and unselfish work. 

Choice of Students.— There should be a careful selection 
of students for the class. It is not the duty of every bright 
pupil to be a teacher. The choice should be made by the 
officers of the school, the pastor or the committee on edu- 
cation. There must be a true unity of spirit in this or 
the work will fail. Often the class spirit runs so high, 
or the devotion of the teacher is so great, that the members 
refuse to leave an interesting class, and the teachers object 
to their leaving for the training-class work. 

Genuine, thorough work for the upbuilding of the school 
will soon establish a loftier standard. In order to secure 
this the training class should be given such honor in 
the school that invitation or election to its ranks will be 
truly held as a promotion. An army in which none 
aspired to be officers would lack all pride and spirit of 
victory. 

Personal Appeal. — ^The official choice of students should 
be followed by direct and personal appeal. The value 
of the study, the nature of the work expected, the confi- 
dence of the church and the opportunity for usefulness 
should be made plain to them. The obligation of loyalty 
to the church and its Master will be the true motive, and 
this will seldom fail to win the consent of those who have 
already placed Christ in the center of their hearts. 

218 



THE TEACHER-TRAINING CLASS 

The Course of Study. — ^The course chosen must be 
adapted to the attainments and needs of the class. With 
classes of young pupils the simple outline courses will 
form the best beginning. With more advanced students 
a careful choice of text and reference reading should be 
made. No hard-and-fast rule should be followed in the 
beginning with such workers. The Bible study may be 
the most interesting and of first importance, or their 
interest in child nature or methods of teaching or organi- 
zation may come first, and be followed by the Bible study 
later. The life of Christ may appeal to them above 
everything else, and they can enter upon their work by 
getting first into the very heart of the Bible and attacking 
afterwards the historical outlines of the Old Testament 
characters and messages. In voluntary work it is not 
always wise, or even possible, to follow the rules, but a 
fresh and eager preference by the students will go a long 
way in winning their interest and committing them to the 
work of a full course. 



219 



IX 

ORGANIZATION AND ENROLLMENT 

A Working Method. — ^When a sufficient number have 
agreed to join the class, then organize. Six, eight or ten 
form a fine study class; a larger number will have more 
enthusiasm and enjoy greater variety in the work. Let 
the class elect president, vice president, secretary and 
treasurer, in addition to the teacher. Thus they will be 
enabled to say "our class" — a very great thing gained. 
Let the class appoint committees on program. A com- 
mittee on membership should assist in securing new mem- 
bers and encourage them in the beginning of their work. 
Secure for the classroom a curtained corner, or some place 
where the members may be by themselves. 

Then let them have some months of uninterrupted 
study. Do not draw any away to do supply teaching. 
Let these young people have their chance to work, but do 
not forget them. Keep them close to the heart of the 
church. Let the class be known in the Sunday school by 
frequent recognition in the opening program; let it be 
known from the pulpit and in the church bulletin. Keep 
the mind of the whole church alive to the fact that a 
training class, seeking higher skill in the teaching of the 
Bible, is at work every week. 

After full organization, and at the end of a month's work 
— ^when the list of members is complete and the new class 
has settled to its work — ^then the enrollment with denomi- 

220 



THE TEACHER-TRAINING CLASS 

national or state secretary is very important, since the 
class should look forward to a full course and complete 
examinations. A diploma, given upon completion of such 
examinations by the denomination or the International 
Association, is the recognition of the long and well-spent 
effort. 

Beginning Work. — ^The books approved by the various 
churches for the First Standard Course are books of out- 
lines. They are clear and simple and give a basis for work. 
Such a course can be made a valuable foundation in the 
hands of a teacher and an earnest, studious class. 

There should be frequent reviews, written tests and 
some drills in the important outlines; this will lead the 
student to master the contents of the book readily. But 
the memory method by itself comes far short of the best 
results. Information is gained, but it takes far more 
than a group of facts, however well organized, to make a 
teacher. The habit of study is, after all, the most valuable 
fruit of this work — so many teachers have been accustomed 
to trifle and delay in preparation. A regular and conscien- 
tious method is the foundation for success in Sunday-school 
teaching as a life work. 

Enriching the Course. — ^There are a number of ways by 
which this course may be enriched : 

1. By Bible Study. — ^The reading and study of the Bible 
itself should be a part of the work faithfully carried for- 
ward. It is possible to study about the Bible and not 
become a student of the Bible itself. No one can be a 
true Bible teacher who is not a constant reader and a real 
student of its pages. 

221 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

^. By Reference Reading. — ^The workers' library of the 
Sunday school, and often the town or city library, can be 
used for reference. A few books should be at the command 
of every class. The reading should be assigned by the 
teacher, who should always give chapter and page. A 
short report in writing or a verbal report should be made 
on important subjects. The assignment can be made 
according to the interest of the students. The teacher 
should be careful to ask for a report and see that the refer- 
ence reading is actually done. 

3. By Encouraging and Directing Observation by the 
Students. — ^They should keep eyes and ears open, and study 
the characteristics of children and older boys and girls. 
The play life and the week-day activities of the different 
ages can be studied and discussed in the class. Some 
students will be interested most in the young child, some 
in the older child, some in those of the "teen" years. All 
should bring the result of their quickened observation to 
the class. 

4. By Story-telling. — ^The fine art of story-telling should 
be cultivated by the teachers. The elementary teachers 
are called especially to be expert story-tellers. To come 
to see vividly with the mind's eye, to describe with short, 
swift words leading to a climax, is a part of the crafts- 
manship of the true teacher for all ages. Practice in the 
selection and adaptation of stories may be made one of 
the most delightful and helpful features of the training 
class. 

5. By Observation of Good Teaching. — ^The students 
should be permitted in time to visit classes in the different 
departments and in different schools. They should make 
careful notes, and on the following Sunday discuss the 

222 



THE TEACHER-TRAINING CLASS 

characteristics of the pupils and special points of interest 
in the teaching. 

6, By Practice Teaching. — At the end of the course 
some teaching may be done by students under teachers 
of experience, or as supply teachers. But the students 
should make careful report to the class, telling the diffi- 
culties, the age and the characteristics of the pupils, the 
questions asked, the stories told, the aim of the lesson 
and the result of the lesson expected in life of pupils. 

7. By the Graded Lessons. — These should be used as 
illustrating the fitting lessons for each age, and in the 
method of presentation by the teacher. They should 
be kept at hand for reference constantly; the introduc- 
tions and forewords of the books for the different years 
are of especial value. Familiarity with the graded system 
is one of the essential qualifications for every young 
teacher. 



223 



THE CLASS OF TEACHERS 

Advanced Work. — The second demand, after the pro- 
spective teachers have been provided for, is training for 
the teachers already at work. They are busy folks, inter- 
ested in many important matters and carrying other work 
for the church, but a large number of them will give time 
for preparation and class work if only it be made worth 
while. 

The mistake has often been made in presenting work 
that was too elementary in treatment. The alert teachers 
of experience are ready for more advanced books. They 
must be challenged to think; they want wider range of 
information, but they especially desire concrete and ac- 
curate directions in methods of teaching and management. 
They are facing the hard problems of the school. They 
hear much of the movements in the Sunday-school work 
and they want the best. The appeal to a higher sense 
of duty and the noble pride in successful work will avail 
far more than a promise to make the studies short and easy. 

The Time. — The time question is always the first one to 
answer, and there is but one solution: consecration of a 
definite portion of time to teaching, and preparation for 
teaching must be made. There must be an offering of 
time as unto God — a sacred tithe of one's energy, an invest- 
ment of influence set aside for his use. Men and women 
who have stores, shops, farms, offices, homes and many 

224 



THE TEACHER-TRAINING CLASS 

demands of time and strength are to-day punctual and 
well-prepared students in hundreds of classes. 

It is not a question of leisure at all, but of the estimate 
in which the teacher's calling is held. Whenever the true 
dignity and high calling of the teacher of religion comes 
home to the heart, then the time is found. If the cost be 
great, the element of sacrifice will lift it above the trifling 
and commonplace. 

The Teacher. — ^Many of the classes are taught by pas- 
tors. Some pastors hold it a privilege to teach either a 
class of young students in preparation or a group of teach- 
ers already enhsted. Such work keeps the pastor close 
to the life problems of people and it gives to the preacher 
a view of the religious needs of childhood and youth that 
is priceless for the pulpit. This is true only in case the 
pastor is an open-minded student of child nature, is willing 
to lead discussions, to read books, be a student of the 
Sunday-school problems and restrain the preaching habit 
in the class. Teachers of the public schools, high schools 
and colleges, trained in normal methods, are rendering 
a great service to the Sunday school and its teachers, 
and many more stand ready to answer the call when the 
study is lifted to a standard that commands their respect 
and demands their skill. 

The Advanced Course. — Advanced courses of study 
have been published by the leading denominations, and 
these courses have been approved by the Committee on 
Education of the International Association. The mini- 
mum time is two years, unless the work be taken in an 
institution of learning, and each of these courses is out- 

225 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

lined as a three-year course of study. Many of the books 
of these courses are the product of scholarship in Bible 
study, and all are expositions of the best methods of 
modern education. 

Works of such character can best be taken up by or- 
ganization of study groups and selection of a teacher 
fitted to the particular subject. For instance, in these 
courses one of the books that meets favor with educa- 
tors is "The Pupil and the Teacher" by Professor Weigle. 
Select a book like this for six months' study. Secure the 
attendance, by personal solicitation, of as large a number 
of teachers as possible. Do not wait for all; even a small 
group may do fine work. Then find a teacher whose 
first interest and information is the psychology of child- 
hood and adolescence, and spend three months at least 
on "The Pupil." If an examination is desired, a sectional 
certificate will be given, with credit toward advanced 
diploma. Perhaps another teacher should be chosen 
for the next section — ^the study of "The Teacher." For 
the Bible study another teacher may be found who is the 
best leader for Old Testament or New Testament. 

The Committee on Education of the local church should 
supervise and encourage an advanced class, as some 
guidance and organization are essential to maintain the 
interest and to care for details of work week by week. 
In a large class organization on the adult class plan will 
be the most effective. 

The Class at Work. — 1. Reference Reading. — This 
should be done with a far wider range of books than in a 
class of younger students. Each member of the class 
should be provided with a notebook, and should be en- 

226 



THE TEACHER-TRAINING CLASS 

couraged to buy a few books for himself, only, however, on 
careful selection. Report of pages and chapters read as 
assigned by the teacher should be made in the reader's 
own words, and discussion should be encouraged. 

^. Short Theme Writing. — ^This should be a regular 
part of the work. With reference reading and discussion 
this will not be difficult, as there will soon appear many 
living topics upon which the class is forming its own 
opinions. 

3. Teaching How to Study.— The waste of time in 
fruitless study must be considered. Aim to get to the 
heart of a book, and express it in a few paragraphs. Let 
the teacher in assigning the lesson give a preview, and indi- 
cate what is the central thought and suggest what is to be 
expected from the lesson. He can thus economize time 
of students and focus the attention on important points. 
Let the teacher urge definite allotment of time for work. 
Study how to use a Bible dictionary; learn the use of maps 
and stereoscopes. A direct object in view is the best 
incentive to study. A wealth of material from books 
and observation will be brought into the class when 
the subject is a live one to its members, and they are 
guided in research and called upon for expression and 
reports. 

4. The Topical Method. — Pass from questions to the 
topical method. This cannot be done at first, but after 
a time, when the members of the class learn to express 
themselves and grow in confidence, they will delight in 
taking up themes and putting the ideas in their own 
language. 

5. Study of Their Own Teaching. — ^The class should be 
given a report form with blanks for study of their own 

227 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

classes, and should make a report to the training class 
for discussion. This should include some description 
of age, numbers and characteristics of pupils, lesson taught, 
plan of lesson by teacher, method of securing attention, 
some questions asked, some of the difficulties, stories told, 
aim of teaching and result. 

6. Story-telling and Character Study, — ^Five to eight 
minutes may be used frequently for story-telling, but 
no story should be offered to the class without careful 
preparation by the teller. The analysis and description 
of characters selected from the Bible, Christian history 
and the heroes of Christian service to-day will be found 
an attraction for the training of leaders of classes of all 
ages. Story-telling is an art that demands practice and 
needs criticism and guidance. 

7. Reports. — Reports on classes and schools visited for 
observation should be given, with suggestions of best 
ideas gained. Conventions, institutes, schools of methods 
attended by members should be reported from notebooks 
for fresh suggestions. 

8. General Suggestions. — ^The following suggestions, from 
Professor George A. Coe, if carefully followed will prove 
invaluable to the class: 

(a) Let every meeting be a religious meeting. Open 
with prayer. Appeal constantly to religious motives, to 
the end that consecration may grow deeper as well as more 
intelligent. Aim to awaken ambition to be a skillful 
worker in the church. 

(6) Always discuss the reports. You must be attentive 
and responsive to your class as well as the class to you. 

(c) Always call for quotations, or points, from the 
reading. 

228 



THE TEACHER-TRAINING CLASS 

(d) Secure discussion of everything. See that every 
member answers questions. 

(e) Begin and close on time. Don't dawdle. Plan 
each meeting so that the work will be done by the end of 
the hour without hurry. 

P. Adaptation, — Adapt yourself and the lessons to your 
class at any cost. Leave out, insert, modify wherever 
necessary. Don't attempt to make too many points in 
a lesson hour, but make your central point stand out. 
Don't be ashamed to say "I don't know." 



229 



THE CITY TRAINING SCHOOL 

Specialization. — ^Much of the study in the classes con- 
nected with the local churches will be devoted to the 
general questions that are common to all Sunday-school 
teachers and Bible students. It is difficult to plan for 
special studies because the teachers of the different ages 
are all together, or else the group is a small one chosen 
from one department and the other departments are not 
interested. Often the class is made up entirely of girls 
and the study is devoted entirely to the primary pupils, 
and the result is a one-sided development of the school. 
The Elementary Division is charged with enthusiasm and 
teachers are using the best lessons and bringing the fruits 
of the study of new books, careful plans, and training-class 
methods to their classes. But often there is no like skill or 
organization for the years beyond. The older boys have 
not been enlisted for teaching, the younger men have 
not been in training for officers and leaders, and the falling 
away after the junior years is watched in helpless despair 
because no teachers and leaders have been provided for 
classes above the elementary years. 

There can be some training of specialists in a class of 
new recruits, but it can only be of a suggestive nature; 
there is little time for careful attention to one problem 
of teaching when all are present. Now the day has come 
for setting aside teachers according to their talents, and 
training them to do the one thing they can best do. 

230 



THE TEACHER-TRAINING CLASS 

The local church does not have the members or teachers 
for such division of activities. How shall the work be 
done? 

The Mm.— This is a night school of religion for the 
study of Sunday-school problems and methods of increas- 
ing its efficiency by teaching and better organization. Its 
primary object is to train leaders and open classes for spe- 
cial departments and grades for more thorough study than 
can be followed in the classes of a single church. 

Organization. — ^The school, or institute, is usually or- 
ganized by calling together representatives of as many 
churches as are willing to cooperate in the betterment of 
the Sunday school by careful education in modern methods. 
The Ministers' Union, The City Sunday-school Associa- 
tion or The Superintendents' Union, The Young Men's 
Christian Association, the Young Women's Christian 
Association and kindred organizations are asked to unite 
in improving and sustaining the city school. 

A Council formed from representatives of each church 
meets once a quarter to determine the general policy, 
elect a principal, who shall have charge of the school, and 
a small Executive Committee. This committee chooses 
the corps of teachers; the principal directs the working of 
the school week by week. 

The School at Work. — ^More than a score of such train- 
ing schools were working successfully in 1913. By the 
end of the year this type of school had passed beyond 
the experimental stage, and proved itself a practical 
solution of the difficult problem of lifting and maintaining 

231 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

the standards of graded and departmental Sunday-school 
instruction. 

A central church, or suitable building, is chosen for the 
regular meeting place. Two periods of forty-five minutes 
each, for one evening a week, during at least thirty weeks 
of the year, is the plan usually adopted. 

The teachers are found in the public schools and col- 
leges, and among the ministers and other studious and 
successful religious leaders of the city. There is seldom 
difficulty in securing a faculty with scholarship and teach- 
ing skill. The choice of necessity must be made with 
great care. Only teachers able to sustain interest and 
offer a superior type of lesson can keep the attendance of 
their classes, as the members are present to secure some 
information of a special sort, or, even more, to discover 
better methods in teaching and receive training in them. 
They will not attend regularly unless the teaching is 
thorough, practical and well adapted, unless they them- 
selves are made students and working partners in the 
class. 

The First Hour. — ^The first period of forty-five minutes 
should be a general assembly hour. It should be opened 
with a moment of worship, the faculty being seated in a 
group on the platform. The period may be devoted to a 
section of Bible study — ^historical outlines, character 
study or messages of the books — or to the problems of 
Sunday-school organization, gradation, management, etc., 
or the study of child nature and the methods of teaching. 
Or, again, there may be textbook study presented by some 
teacher of ability, with outline method and use of note- 
books. 

232 



THE TEACHER-TRAINING CLASS 

The value of this hour is in fellowship. There should 
be a strong bond of unity among the Sunday-school 
workers, a high sense of comradeship and joy in the com- 
mon work. This truly professional spirit can only come 
by intimate acquaintance given by frequent meeting with 
the great common aim in view. A survey of the com- 
munity problems from the standpoint of the Sunday 
school can be made inspiring and effective in such an hour. 
The members of this unified company, joined in prayer 
and song, see Protestant childhood and youth of the city 
as their field of service, and the magnitude and difficulty 
of the task before them unites them in one company and 
binds them together as soldiers on a common battle field. 

The Second Hour. — The classes should meet in separate 
classrooms. A carefully chosen teacher should be in 
charge of each class. Time — ^forty-five minutes. There 
should be a moment of worship in each class. 

The classes should be divided as follows whenever the 
enrollment is large enough: 



Elementary 



Secondary 



Adult 



Teachers of Beginners Classes. 
Teachers of Primary Classes. 
Teachers of Junior Classes. 

Teachers of Boys' Classes. 
Teachers of Girls* Classes. 
Teachers of Senior Classes. 

Teachers of Men's Classes. 
Teachers of Women's Classes. 
233 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

There should be also a coaching class for teachers of 
training classes, a class in methods of missionary instruc- 
tion and a class in methods of temperance instruction. 

Bible study in Old and New Testaments. 

Each class should use a textbook with reference reading. 
There should be discussions of reports and theme writing. 
The books for text and reference work should be of the 
more thorough and accurate type — ^the best that can be 
found for each department. 

Two or Three Terms. — ^The work may be divided into 
three terms to good advantage — twelve weeks in the fall, 
ten weeks in winter and ten in spring, or it may be 
divided into two terms, beginning in October and com- 
pleting first term in midwinter, with a vacation time at 
Christmas. There may be a reorganization at the be- 
ginning of the second term, and the work may be com- 
pleted with some public exercise in the late spring. This 
would allow change of texts and subjects, and would give 
time for recruiting classes and winning new students. 

The number of classes can be graduated according to the 
enrollment. In some of the cities the enrollment has been 
two hundred and more, and there have been twelve and 
fourteen classes busy at work during the second period; 
in other cities, with smaller enrollment, only four or five 
classes can be organized to advantage. The large num- 
bers are a splendid encouragement and give strength and 
an inspiriting evidence of success, but smaller numbers 
may work with equal thoroughness and efiiciency. 

This plan for giving system and common strength to the 
work of religious education is not for the large city alone; 
the smaller city or town may use this method with the 

234 



THE TEACHER-TRAINING CLASS 

same profit; in fact, the larger city is the more difficult 
field. But the smaller city and the towns carry out their 
work with equal value, if only the leadership and unity of 
spirit are available. Fifty who will enroll with a pledge 
of fidelity in their hearts can give their own schools a 
higher educational rating and their own lives the joy 
that comes from a new vision in successful labor for the 
kingdom. The fresh impulse from new books, counsel 
and study with fellow workers will give a zest to many a 
tired teacher and new courage to many a lagging leader. 

A Businesslike Method. — ^The plans for such a city 
school or institute should be laid long in advance. Some 
weeks should be devoted to the selection of teachers, the 
enrollment of students, the awakening of interest and the 
completion of organization. 

The enrollment can best be secured by personal appeal. 
The few who are leaders can find some one in each of the 
different Sunday schools who will secure names of teachers 
and officers in his own school. A diligent preliminary 
survey and canvass insure a solid and reliable working 
organization. 

A large measure of the success or failure rests in the 
choice of a principal. With a leader of commanding en- 
thusiasm and wide vision, a noble contribution may be 
made to the Sunday-school life of any city. 



235 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WOEK 



VIII 
THE HOME DEPARTMENT 

BT 

Rev. E. morris FERGUSSON 



237 



THE HOME DEPAETMENT 



I 

WHAT THE HOME DEPARTMENT IS 

Definition. — ^The Home Department is a department of 
the Sunday school which seeks to enroll those who feel 
unable to attend regularly, and yet are willing to study 
the lessons and have a part in the membership and work 
of the school. 

Aim. — It aims to extend the regular study of God's Word 
and the Christian fellowship of the Sunday school, church 
and congregation. It furnishes the pastor and the parish 
with a corps of helpers called visitors, who visit the Home 
Department members at least once a quarter under the 
direction of a Home Department superintendent. 

Results.— Through this simple enrollment, visitation 
and Bible study, with occasional special gatherings and 
invitations, many members of church families take up 
or resume regular Bible study, to their great personal 
profit. Many families and individuals, also, who pre- 
viously were outside of church influences, are interested 
and ultimately secured as regular attendants upon the 
pulpit and school services of the church. Children be- 
come more regular in attendance upon the Sunday school 
and know their lessons better through their parents' 

239 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

greater interest in their lesson work. Cases of spiritual 
and material destitution are found and reported. The 
aged and the "shut-in" greatly appreciate the church's 
attention and the privilege of fellowship in Bible study. 
The whole church membership, so far as not in attend- 
ance upon the Sunday school, may be thus enrolled, and 
will be the better for a definite line of Bible work. 

The Home Department is a valuable feeder to the main 
Sunday school. The fear sometimes expressed that some 
will take the easy, stay-at-home method of discharging 
their Sunday-school obligations provided by the depart- 
ment is not realized in experience, but rather the contrary. 
Abundant testimony can be furnished on this point by 
anyone familiar with the Home Department in its practical 
workings. People go where they are interested; and those 
previously indifferent frequently become so interested in 
the lessons as to leave the Home Department to become 
members of some class in the school. Teachers and other 
workers are sometimes secured in this way. One super- 
intendent realized how well the department in her charge 
was doing its work when an examination of the roll showed 
that all but two of the members had become attendants 
of the main school. Superintendents and visitors find 
that they must be continually active if they would supply 
the places of those who leave in this way. 

Who Can Do It. — As the work of both the superin- 
tendent and the visitors is done outside of the Sun- 
day-school hour, and is yet closely connected therewith, 
there is nothing to prevent teachers and other active 
workers from taking up Home Department work in ad- 
dition -to their present duties. Indeed, many teachers 

240 



THE HOME DEPARTMENT 

of large classes find that the charge of a group of mem- 
bers, including some of the parents of their own pupils, 
adds little to their present duties, and is rather a help 
than a burden. On the other hand, in most large fields, 
and even in some small ones, there are willing, capa- 
ble and consecrated workers quietly w^aiting for some 
one to discover their capabilities and intrust them with 
responsibility. The Home Department service is ad- 
mirably fitted for bringing out these silent ones; and 
hundreds who a few years ago had nothing to do in the 
Church are now actively and helpfully at work as Home 
Department superintendents and visitors. 

What the Work Is Like. — The work to be done is simple 
enough. Each member is given a lesson quarterly and 
a record envelope, on which he marks each week the fact 
that he has studied the lesson for at least half an hour, 
and in which he places such contribution as he would 
make if attending Sunday school. At the end of the cal- 
endar quarter the visitors call upon the members in their 
respective groups or districts, receive their envelopes, give 
out the new envelopes and lesson quarterlies, learn of their 
welfare and interest in the work, and report the result of 
their visitation to the Home Department superintendent. 
The individual visitor may add to this outline whatever 
friendly and Christian neighborliness is in her heart; 
may use the quarter's Bible lessons as a leading topic with 
which to open up a conversation on spiritual things; and 
will always report to the pastor any fact that he should 
know. 

The outfit for the work includes a supply of circulars, 
record envelopes, report blanks, etc., with Home De- 

241 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

partment lesson quarterlies enough to supply all the pro- 
spective members. This involves an outlay at the start 
of two or three dollars for a field of moderate size. With 
the close of the first quarter the members' quarterly con- 
tributions begin to come in, and the almost universal 
experience is that the receipts more than cover all ex- 
penses. It is hard to convince the people in most com- 
munities that the whole thing is not another scheme to 
raise money; and so the visitors are generally instructed 
to emphasize the fact that offerings are purely voluntary, 
and only such as the member would give as a matter of 
course if he were present in the Sunday school. Yet 
even so, most churches find that a well-managed Home 
Department, instead of being an expense, is a steady and 
substantial source of revenue. 

The work has received the hearty indorsement of the 
leading denominations. It is all strictly local, under the 
oversight of the pastor and the church authorities, is 
equally necessary in city and country fields and has been 
abundantly blessed whenever faithfully tried. 

Begin Now. — It is easy at the outset to organize a 
force to begin the work; and the value and helpfulness 
are so obvious, and the joys of service are so many, that 
little trouble is found in maintaining and enlarging the 
department when once begun. 



242 



II 

HOW TO BEGIN 

Most Home Departments start with the enthusiasm 
and enterprise of one person. If you, reader, are ready, 
with God's help, to be that person, then the first thing 
for you to do is to learn about the Home Department and 
to familiarize yourself with the pieces of printed matter 
which experience has shown to be necessary to good and 
permanent work. 

What Supplies Are Needed. — Procure a set of samples 
of Home Department Hterature. The principal printed 
tools are the lesson quarterly, the record envelope, the 
visitor's record, the visitor's quarterly report and the 
superintendent's record book. The envelope has spaces 
for marking the member's weekly lesson study, visits to 
Sunday school and contributions. The visitor's record 
provides space for a Hst of the names and addresses of the 
visitor's so-called "class" or group of members, with 
columns for a year's record of the work, by quarters. 

Other supplies frequently used are : a circular describing 
the Home Department, the duties of members, etc., for 
distribution in church and by the visitors; a pledge card, 
to secure the member's pledge to study the lesson for not 
less than one-half hour a week; a certificate of membership 
or recognition card, to be given the new member upon en- 

243 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

rollment (occasionally useful in large departments); a 
blank form for the Home Department superintendent's 
quarterly report to the Sunday school; a book or blank 
in which to record the results of the canvass for new mem- 
bers; a credential, button or badge for the Home Depart- 
ment messenger. 

Starting. — With the literature before you showing the 
plan of work, sit down and realize to yourself the necessity 
for doing such work as this in your field. Consider, not 
what your Sunday school and church are doing already, 
but what they are leaving undone. Think not of the 
difficulties to be encountered in starting a new work in a 
field where the laborers are too few for the work already 
undertaken, but rather of what the Lord has helped you 
and others to do in the past, under circumstances similarly 
discouraging. Recall the many reports and testimonials 
that have been printed from schools like yours that have 
tried the work and been blest therein. Pray for the needs 
in your field. If somebody's heart does not burn, your 
Home Department will not amount to much, even if you 
go through the form of starting it. 

Talk over the movement with pastor and superintendent 
and with a few of your friends. Arouse interest, pass 
around your information, explain details of operation, 
meet objections, secure promises of cooperation. 

Now have the superintendent or the pastor bring the 
matter before a meeting of the session or the board chosen 
to look after the work of the Sunday school. Present the 
plan in its general purpose and its details, exhibit the sam- 
ple literature and secure a vote approving the plan ai d 
providing for carrying it into operation. 

244 



THE HOME DEPARTMENT 

Getting Under Way. — ^Different Sunday schools T^-ill 
find different ways of going to work. Sometimes the way 
wdll be clear to elect the Home Department superintendent 
at once, with authority to order lesson quarterlies and 
printed matter, and to appoint and send out the visitors 
on the preliminary canvass. Sometimes it is best for the 
meeting to appoint a committee on organization, made 
up of those who will prove good workers when the organiza- 
tion is complete. This committee should study the litera- 
ture and the field, prepare a list of families and individuals 
to be invited to join the department and make up an esti- 
mate of the printed supplies necessary, if these have not 
already been ordered. Action should not be delayed 
merely for the sake of conforming to somebody's method 
of organization; nor, on the other hand, should the work 
go forward too fast to permit of the enlisting and educating 
of the necessary helpers. 

The defect of much that is called Home Department 
organization has come just here. Some one faithful 
worker understands the plan so well and is so willing to 
w^ork that the rest are only too glad to appoint him or her 
(generally her), and give her full authority to go ahead 
and do everything. The result is that the work done is 
good as far as it goes, but does not go farther or last longer 
than the work of that one; and it becomes less easy each 
quarter to divide the field among various hands. The 
time to avoid this mistake is at the beginning. 

In some fields, especially where there is a hesitancy 
about organizing for fear no members will be secured, the 
leaflets and envelopes may be distributed in Sunday school, 
the work explained and the pupils asked to urge their 
parents to join. The prompt response usually secured by 

245 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

this method reassures the doubting leaders, makes it neces- 
sary to do something at once and furnishes a good start 
for the work of the preKminary canvass; and this much 
may be done with no organization at all. 

The order for supplies should be sent in as soon as 
authority is granted to form the department, in order that, 
as soon as the visitors are appointed, the work may be 
ready for them. 

Canvassing for Members. — ^The first work after choos- 
ing the superintendent is to secure capable visitors for 
the preliminary canvass. These should be chosen with 
care, as one or two injudicious canvassers might easily 
spoil the whole plan. The next step is to secure as mem- 
bers of the Home Department persons not now mem- 
bers of the Sunday school, who will agree to study the 
Sunday-school lesson for at least half an hour a week, 
keeping a record of their lesson study upon the envelope 
to be provided and making such contribution as they feel 
disposed to make as members of the Sunday school. 

In order that the canvass may be systematic and com- 
plete, a list should be prepared of all persons in the com- 
munity who may properly be invited to join. This list 
can best be prepared by a committee of those who know the 
field, including the superintendent, the pastor and the 
newly appointed Home Department superintendent. 
Where necessary, the roll of the Sunday school and of the 
church should be carefully gone over, especially the pri- 
mary roll. The list should begin with the church officers 
and members not in the Sunday school, and should in- 
clude the regular and occasional attendants at church, 
the non-church-going parents of Sunday-school children, 

246 



THE HOME DEPARTMENT 

invalids, those employed by institutions, railroads and 
other companies whose requirements interfere with church 
duties, and absent members on the church roll. 

Call the visitors together and divide up this hst in the 
most effective way. Sometimes it is best to divide the 
parish at the start into districts, giving each district to one 
canvasser. But there are always people who are better 
reached by some than by others; and it is generally best, 
if district lines are drawn at all at this time, to follow them 
loosely, assigning a name rather to the one best qualified 
to secure that person's consent to join. The need of well- 
defined districts will come later in the work, when watch 
must be kept over the field, and when the convenience 
of the visitor in calling must be considered. 

The canvassers must be supported by a vigorous cam- 
paign of advertising, so that the people may learn some- 
thing about the work and be ready, when the visitor calls, 
to learn more. Let the pastor preach on the duty of 
Bible study, explaining briefly the new movement in the 
congregation, and urging all not connected with the 
Sunday school to join. Let the Sunday-school superin- 
tendent explain the work and ask the pupils to invite their 
parents to join. It may be well to distribute circulars 
in the pews or at the church door, where many brief but 
valuable interviews can be secured. A paragraph or two 
in the local paper may not come amiss. The real work of 
securing members, however, is generally done through 
personal visits to the homes; and frequently two or three 
visits are necessary to find the person at home, overcome 
objections and secure the member's name. This is a con- 
dition of the canvass, and should be agreed to by those 
who take the names. 

247 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

As the directions on the printed helps generally state, 
the visitor is to go armed with a supply of record envelopes 
and lesson quarterlies, possibly also with certificates of 
membership, invitation or recognition cards or other 
literature used; and as soon as a member is secured, he 
should be supplied with the means for beginning work 
at once. The names and addresses of all members thus 
secured, with remarks, should be turned over in writing 
to the Home Department superintendent. This completes 
the preliminary canvass. 



248 



Ill 

THE WORK OF EACH QUARTER 

Forming the Groups. — ^The preliminary canvass to 
secure members of the Home Department is a fine test of 
the staying quaHty of the visitors and of their capacity 
for the work. Some who confidently asked for a long list 
of names to canvass will come back with a surprisingly 
large proportion of refusals, or with only part of the list 
visited; while in other cases every name will be secured 
and the canvasser will ask for more. 

The superintendent having received the entire list of 
new members, should then proceed to form them into 
groups, frequently but misleadingly called "classes." 
Each group should be carefully adapted to the capacity 
and convenience of the visitor who is to care for it. As 
far as possible, especially in the country, the parish should 
be divided into territorial districts; but this districting 
should be strictly subordinate to the wise grouping of the 
names, and it is generally best not to advertise it, lest 
exceptions and transfers should give rise to talk. If every 
member knows who his visitor is, and every visitor has his 
list of members, the superintendent can alter his plan of 
districts at will. Absent members, to be reached by cor- 
respondence, are sometimes grouped together under a 
"correspondence visitor"; sometimes given to those visitors 
who know them best. 

The good superintendent will always be on the lookout 
for material for new visitors, and will be preparing a fresh 
group of members, old and new, to be assigned to the next 

249 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

new visitor secured. One or more capable substitutes, 
also, will be needed every quarter in large departments 
to canvass the groups belonging to sick or absent visitors. 
Groups should vary greatly in size; some visitors have 
all they can do to take care of five or six members, while 
others seem able to handle twenty or even thirty satis- 
factorily. Large groups, however, should not be made at 
the outset, as the groups of the more efficient visitors will 
tend to increase in size. From six to twelve members 
to a visitor is a good range. The visitor with a conveyance 
at command will, of course, take the more distant homes. 

The Quarterly Supplies. — As the last Sunday of the 
quarter draws near the superintendent should see that the 
Home Department lesson quarterlies for the coming quar- 
ter are secured by the school secretary and placed in his 
hands for distribution; also that his supply of envelopes 
and other necessaries is sufficient for the quarter's needs. 
Publishers try to fill promptly the eleventh-hour orders 
that come in on Saturdays just at noon; but it does not pay 
to take such chances. Buy in quantity, and keep an 
ample stock on hand. 

To meet the constant complaint of visitors that the 
members lose their envelopes, a plan used in many large 
departments is for the superintendent to paste the envelope 
into the quarterly, tipping the end opposite the flap so 
that it can readily be torn loose when called for by the 
visitor. This also adds to the convenience of the visitor 
in distributing her supplies. It is hardly safe to leave 
this pasting to the visitors; some will attend to it, others 
will not. 

Every envelope before being given out should have 

250 



THE HOME DEPARTMENT 

written upon it by the visitor the member's name, the 
year and quarter, the visitor's name (and address, if 
needed) and the name of the Sunday school. The latter 
may be placed on the whole supply of envelopes with a 
rubber stamp, thus saving much labor to the visitors. 

Sending Out the Visitors. — The supplies being in hand 
and in condition for distribution, the superintendent, 
before making up the visitors' bundles, should next go 
carefully over his alphabetical roll of members, and also 
over his roll of members by groups, to see what items of 
information need to be supplied and what personal mes- 
sages the visitor should be asked to carry. These should 
be noted on slips of paper, so that each visitor may have, 
with her supplies, exact instructions as to her special 
duties. If the pastor and Sunday-school superintendent 
have any plans on foot for anniversaries or special meetings 
during the coming quarter to which it is desirable to invite 
the Home Department members, such invitations may be 
conveniently sent out through the visitors at this time. 
Personal, face-to-face invitations, indeed, are so much 
more effective than written ones, to say nothing of the 
pulpit notices sometimes relied on, that it is well worth 
while to fix the time of such gatherings with reference to 
their being announced by the visitors on their rounds. 

On Sunday or Monday of the last week in the calendar 
quarter a meeting of the visitors should be called for some 
convenient hour and place, at which the superintendent 
may give out the bundles of supplies, each with its sHp 
of personal instructions, and may supplement these in- 
structions with verbal conference. The visitor's bundle 
will include quarterlies and envelopes for all her members, 

251 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

a blank for the visitor's quarterly report, and, at the be- 
ginning of the year, a visitor's book or card with the revised 
list of members belonging to that group written in. This 
quarterly meeting is also a convenient time to discuss 
plans for the work of the department, and to inspire the 
visitors with fresh courage, higher ideals and renewed 
dependence upon the power of the Holy Spirit. The 
pastor should be invited; and if he realizes the extent to 
which these visitors can help him in his parochial work, 
he will seldom fail to be there, whether himself a visitor 
or not. 

' The visitors then start out upon their visitation. It 
is important that this be completed within the week; 
otherwise some members will not have their quarterlies 
in time for the study of the first Sunday's lesson. It is 
also important that real visits be paid. Interviews and 
messages may perhaps suffice occasionally and in an emer- 
gency; but the friendly. Christian visit is part of the work, 
and is usually highly prized, especially by the shut-in 
members. "I live all the time in anticipation of the next 
hour with my Home Department visitor, and for weeks 
after that hour I think of what has been said to me," 
is the appreciative message of one member who is so 
crippled by rheumatism that she cannot leave her chair. 
And there are thousands like her. 

As soon as the last member's envelope has been secured, 
the visitor is ready to make her quarterly report, having 
first entered on her "visitor's card" or in her "visitor's 
book" the record of each member for the quarter. 

The Visitor^s Report. — ^The visitor's quarterly report 
must always be in writing. No department can be sys- 

252 



THE HOME DEPARTMENT 

tematically and effectively run where this is not insisted on. 
The report should include the names of members in the 
group, names and addresses of new members secured and 
a statement opposite each name of the number of lessons 
studied, times present (if at all) in Sunday school, amount 
of contribution and date of the visitor's visit, or the fact, 
indicated by a check mark, that such visit was duly paid. 
All other items of interest, as the reason for withdrawal 
or non-study of lessons, change of address, transfer to 
main school, with class joined, etc., should be fully stated. 
These things should be reported verbally to the superin- 
tendent, as he may want to ask questions; and if the report 
is also filed in writing, it will be there to refresh his memory 
when the time comes to act on the information secured. 
The report should be rendered promptly, that is, within 
two weeks from the beginning of the quarterly visitation. 
Careful superintendents, who desire to deal with every 
member as an individual, will insist on the visitor's return- 
ing the envelopes with the quarterly report. The marks 
on these tell many things not shoT^ni by the quarterly 
tabulation, and the superintendent should scrutinize 
them whenever there is either faultiness or ground for 
question in the records of visitor or member. They need 
not, however, be preserved after the quarterly count is 
made up; nor is there any rule, other than convenience, 
as to whether or not they shall be returned unopened. 

The Member's Report.— Much difficulty is often found 
in inducing some of the members to keep their weekly 
record and to have the envelope ready for the visitor's 
call. Patience, tact and careful explanation of the need 
for full records will sooner or later bring most of the care- 

253 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

less members into line. Where the faulty record or the 
visitor's report seems to indicate that the member thinks 
he can atone for neglect of Bible study by a good and 
regular contribution, he should be first warned and then 
dropped. The Home Department must faithfully per- 
form its own work, make good its published terms of mem- 
bership and avoid any trespass upon the field of other 
church agencies. It cannot do this if it consents to be a 
mere collector of contributions. 

One successful Home Department worker has met the 
difficulty of non-reporting members by the use of a small 
pink slip,^ which she attaches to the new quarterly to be 
given to the member whose report for the previous quarter 
was not secured. The slip conveys a simple and courteous 
request from the department superintendent for a complete 
report, to be ready each quarter when the visitor calls. 
This gentle rebuke is taken good-naturedly, and usually 
effects its purpose. 

The Messenger Service. — In many departments it has 
been found helpful to have a corps of messenger boys, 
appointed from the regular attendants at Sunday school, 
who assist the visitors in communicating with their mem- 
bers between the quarterly visits. A messenger should 
never be sent, however, as a substitute for the visitor's 
periodical calls. It has been found that judicious use of 
the boys in this way has helped to develop their manliness 
and readiness to serve, so that in later years they become 
invaluable workers in church and Sunday school. 

It should be such a difficult matter to secure an appoint- 

1 These slips will be furnished by the Westminster Press free of 
charge. 

254 



THE HOME DEPARTMENT 

ment as messenger that the boys will apply for the post, 
instead of waiting to be begged to serve. The use of a 
badge or button and the adoption and enforcement of a 
simple code of regulations will be found helpful. Desire 
to be appointed to such an honorable position has led some 
boys to give up bad habits. In one school the messenger 
service is made attractive by the reading out on Rally Day 
of the names of those who have done satisfactory work 
during the year, with a statement of the work done. 
Then the boys are asked to stand while the superintendent 
speaks a few sentences of appreciation. 

In many instances visitors have found the messengers 
most helpful — sometimes in unexpected ways. Mrs. 
Flora V. Stebbins, in 'The Home Department of To-day," 
has told of a visitor who was eager to get a certain influen- 
tial man as a member, but feared to ask him. Then, to her 
surprise, her messenger — ^to whom she had never spoken 
of her desire — told her that the man would like to join the 
department. The diplomatic way in which his applica- 
tion was secured was learned by inquiry. The sequel 
was that the new member became a careful Bible student 
and died a Christian man. For this change in his life he 
thanked the messenger who had led him into the Home 
Department. 



255 



IV 

BUILDING UP THE MEMBERSHIP 

Keep Your Promise.— In canvassing for Home Depart- 
ment members, the Smiday school makes a definite pledge 
that the person joining will be treated as a member of the 
school and invited to all special occasions. It is the duty 
of the Home Department superintendent to see that this 
pledge is not forgotten by the superintendent and the 
school. 

At Christmas, Easter, Children's Day, the annual picnic 
or excursion and all other special times the plans should 
include an invitation to the Home Department members 
and provision for seating, welcoming and interesting those 
who attend. Pulpit and desk notices may be given, but 
should not be depended upon. A notice by mail or mes- 
senger, or a personal invitation by the visitor, must be 
sent to each member if all are to be reached; and the extra 
trouble is well worth taking, as it assures the members 
that the church's interest in them is more than a matter 
of form. If candy, ice cream or other substantial favors 
are to be dispensed, the Home Department members 
should receive their share. 

Socials. — Socials for the members are held by many 
progressive departments. They help the members to 
realize how many others are studying with them each 
week, and tend to bring members and visitors into closer 
relation. For the same reason the roll of members should, 

256 



THE HOME DEPARTMENT 

in a large department, be printed and circulated once a 
year. 

In planning a Home Department social, a worker of 
experience offers this advice: "By all means make the 
meeting an exclusive occasion for members of the Home 
Department only; otherwise it loses its value as a favor 
extended to them. Have a bright and interesting pro- 
gram, with a brief address by the pastor, not longer 
than ten minutes. This limit should also apply to any 
other addresses. After the brief formal exercises, have a 
social hour and serve light refreshments, which may be in 
the name of the visitors. The social should be held early 
in the quarter, so that the visitors may carry the invita- 
tions with them on their rounds." 

The company that is usually drawn together by these 
invitations is not easy to handle socially. Compared with 
the visitors' hopes, the attendance will seem small, and 
the ice will be hard to break. No pains should be spared, 
therefore, to make the meeting place especially cozy, 
chatty and imconventional. The members may be met 
at the door, not merely with a greeting, but with some de- 
vice like a numbered question to which must be found the 
numbered answer, compelling the newcomer to move 
around and get acquainted. The program throughout 
should be full, bright and varied. The leaders of the 
Sunday school should be invited and urged to attend. 

New Members. — ^The law that things that stand still 
go backward applies to the Home Department. The 
superintendent must never relax the effort for new mem- 
bers. As soon as each quarterly visitation is over and the 
quarterly report complete, a quiet effort for new members 

257 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

should begin. The pastor, the primary teacher and all 
others who visit in the church's field should be working 
in the interest of the Home Department. The visitors, 
of course, will lose no opportunity to pick up and report a 
new member. Special efforts may be made from time to 
time, such as a house-to-house canvass of the field, a call 
on the Sunday-school teachers for lists of the parents 
represented in their classes or the sending of an envoy to 
the fire company, the police station or the car barn. If 
a hospital or other institution is in the vicinity, the 
nurses and attendants should be looked after. No year 
should pass without at least one concerted and definite 
movement all along the line for new Home Department 
members. 

Absent Church Members. — ^Absent members on the 
church roll are a serious problem to the conscientious 
pastor, especially in a church that ministers to a moving 
population like that of a manufacturing or a railroad town. 
People move away, and then insist on retaining their 
membership in the old church, regardless of the rules which 
most if not all denominations have made as to loss of stand- 
ing through absence. The Home Department plan gives 
the pastor, or a correspondence visitor duly appointed, 
an excellent reason for writing to such people and re- 
questing them to become studying, reporting and con- 
tributing members of the Home Department. If they 
will not do this, they cannot reasonably complain at being 
dropped from the church roll; if they do, the church regu- 
larly hears from them and receives their gifts; and the 
study of the uniform Bible lessons arouses fresh interest 
in the services of the church nearest them, and usually 

258 



THE HOME DEPARTMENT 

leads to a call for their letters and a transfer of member- 
ship. Or, if the absence is temporary, as of a young man 
away at study or in a position, the quarterly letter from 
the visitor asking for a report insures the keeping up of 
connection with his old church and school. Some de- 
partments tell of soldier members in the Philippines and 
other distant stations, whose Sunday-school connection 
and duties are a potent force to keep them true amid 
hardships and temptations. 

Foreigners. — The rapid increase in immigration makes 
it more needful than ever that we should care spiritually 
for the stranger within our gates. Few American fields 
to-day are without some families who speak and read a 
foreign tongue. Although many of these are Roman 
Catholic, this need not be assumed in advance; and even 
so, the Christian visitor, with a smile, an invitation and a 
Bible lesson help and magazine in the old familiar tongue, 
will seldom fail of a courteous welcome; while among the 
school children an interpreter, if needed, can readily be 
found. The enterprising department will reconnoiter 
its field to ascertain the extent and character of its foreign- 
reading population, and will then seek to supply itself with 
lesson literature in the language called for, charging the 
first expense to its missionary work. The secretary of 
the state or provincial Sunday-school association can usu- 
ally ascertain from international headquarters where 
any required foreign literature can be procured. When 
these people have once been enlisted as friends, they will 
want to pay for all that is given them; but the call to con- 
tribute should be suppressed with more than usual care 
during the canvass. 

259 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

Newcomers. — One advantage of having the field dis- 
tricted, is in the ''lookout" work that the visitors can 
thus do in finding and promptly calling upon new fam- 
ilies moving in. Until these are known to be of an- 
other church connection, any church covering that field 
may and should seek to take them under its care. In 
some city fields this work is done with system and exact- 
ness; monthly or even weekly reports are made, and card 
indexes are kept that show the church relationship of 
every family within the bounds of the parish. If this 
work is needed, the Home Department organization can 
readily be expanded to cover it, either alone or in con- 
junction with other churches. 

The Record. — ^The superintendent's record is an im- 
portant factor in that steady pushing of the work without 
which it will surely become an old story and j^gin to de- 
cline. Neither the memory nor a mere file of report blanks 
will suffice as a basis of information. The superintendent 
should have a carefully prepared record book, arranged 
to receive all the information that will or may afterwards 
be needed, and no more. The need for information in 
good shape is felt (1) when a report of the work is called 
for; (2) when a group is to be transferred to a new 
visitor or rearranged; (3) when a special canvass for 
new members is to be instituted; (4) when the superin- 
tendency is transferred to another. Every quarter's 
visitation, in fact, brings the need of a well-kept record 
to refer to. 

Several forms of Home Department record book are 
on the market, any one of which can be adapted, more or 
less conveniently, to the needs of the ordinary department. 

260 



THE HOME DEPARTMENT 

The essential requirements of such a book are that it shall 
provide for (a) a list of districts and visitors; (6) an alpha- 
betical list of members, with residence, date of joining 
and number of member's group; (c) a record of each group 
for a year, including the names of visitor and members, 
and columns for each member's quarterly record; {d) a 
set of summing-up pages, on which the quarterly totals 
of the several groups may be brought together and footed; 
{e) blanks for the quarterly and annual reports; (/) the 
cash account. The superintendent, or some friend who 
is a bookkeeper, can with a little ingenuity and some 
patience rule such a book for himself; or he can buy one, 
of a size adapted to his field, from the publishers of this 
manual. 

Progress by Decrease. — ^While laboring for the reten- 
tion and increase of the Home Department members, the 
superintendent and visitors will, of course, never forget 
that the mission of the Home Department is like that of 
John the Baptist. It must ever be ready to decrease 
that the Sunday school proper may increase. Nothing 
should so delight a visitor as to be able to report that every 
member originally assigned to her care has left the de- 
partment by joining a class or becoming a teacher in the 
Sunday school. The superintendent should look for the 
transfer of one or more of these graduates to the roll of 
the main school every quarter. 

It is important, for statistical reasons and also to locate 
responsibility, that this transfer should be made promptly 
and according to some regular system. No person should 
be permitted to retain membership in the department 
and at the same time be carried on the roll of a class. 

261 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

The Home Department superintendent should appeal to 
the school superintendent to see that such a system is 
instituted and placed in the hands of the school secretary 
to be carried out. Visitors who are not at the same time 
members, teachers or officers of the main school should be 
urged to enroll themselves as Home Department members 
in their own groups, studying the lessons regularly and 
reporting to themselves. They need regular Bible study 
as much as do those they visit. The number of visitors 
not thus enrolled somewhere should be added to the 
number of studying members to make up the total of 
Home Department members reported. 

The Income. — If the income of the department is to be 
kept up, the members must be kept informed of the 
amounts contributed and the use that is made of the 
money. It is just as bad policy in the Home Department 
as in the main school to use the pupils' gifts for the pur- 
chase of lesson helps and other supplies. No church need 
plead poverty as an excuse for not changing this; for the 
plan that is better educationally is also better financially. 
Let the church agree to provide all the needed supplies 
for the Home Department, if the Home Department will 
take care of some specific burden that has been laid upon 
the church — some pro rata assessment for a benevolent 
or ecclesiastical cause, the interest or principal of some 
special debt, or, if it must be, some one item of church 
expense. Then, at the next Home Department social, 
after consultation with the visitors, let these financial 
plans be explained to the members and approved by them. 
If this is followed up by a printed or duplicated annual 
report, giving the details of receipts and expenditures, 

262 



THE HOME DEPARTMENT 

the revenue of that department, without any special 
efforts by the visitors, will steadily grow. 

Growing. — ^A department that thus persistently re- 
fuses to consider itself complete, or its work perfect, will 
not only grow, but in its growing will be a continual 
blessing to the Sunday school and the church on the one 
hand, and to the homes on the other. And if its super- 
intendent and visitors have the spirit of Christ, and are 
ready to "speak a word in season to him that is weary,'' 
new openings for spiritual effort will continually present 
themselves, and the kingdom of heaven in that place will 
be built up. 



263 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 



IX 
HOW TO INCREASE ATTENDANCE 

BY 

Rev. jay S. STOWELL 



265 



HOW TO INCEEASE ATTENDANCE 



THE UNCULTIVATED FIELD 

The vast extent of the field undeveloped by the Sunday 
school reminds one of the great stretch of desert a few 
years ago in our western states which to-day is producing 
wheat, alfalfa, apples, plums and peaches. All that was 
lacking was some one to believe in the uncultivated field 
and to give it a chance. 

Out of a population of over ninety million people the 
International Sunday School Association reports as the 
total Sunday-school enrollment in the United States ap- 
proximately fifteen and one-half million persons. This in- 
cludes officers, teachers, Cradle Roll members and Home 
Department members, as well as active pupils. 

In some states less than one person in ten is in direct 
touch with the Sunday school, while in other states the 
proportion is one in four or five. Recent surveys of a more 
intensive character have given us information which is 
equally interesting. In some of our eastern states, where 
the Sunday school has its best hold, the survey of typical 
counties has shown in some cases as high as sixty per 
cent of the boys and girls of school age who are not in 
touch with any Sunday school. In one Protestant county 
with a school age population of 8545, the survey showed 

267 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

that 5195 were not even enrolled in Sunday school. In 
our sparsely settled western states it is estimated that a 
million and a half boys and girls of school age are not 
reached by the Sunday school. We have improved our 
Sunday schools, but the enrollment has not kept pace with 
the improvement. This is doubly significant when we 
realize that family prayers, grace at meals and the Bible 
bedtime stories are often unknown to-day. More and 
more parents are depending on the Sunday school and the 
Sunday school is not rising to its opportunity. 

When we consider the matter of Sunday-school attend- 
ance as compared with enrollment, we find that our in- 
formation is entirely inadequate. It is impossible to 
say how many adults or how many children attend Sun- 
day school on any given Sunday. The carelessness with 
which Sunday-school records have been kept and the 
lack of differentiation between adult pupils and pupils of 
school age leaves us very uncertain as to what proportion 
of the boys and girls are really being reached by Sunday 
schools. Enough data are at hand, however, to make 
certain these facts: 

(a) Millions of boys and girls in our country are not 
reached by the Sunday school, by the parochial school 
or by the synagogue school. 

(6) Tens of millions of adults are entirely out of direct 
touch with these institutions. 

A new meaning is added to these statistics when we 
remember that we are taking into our country each year 
large numbers of individuals of foreign parentage, birth 
and ideals, and that these individuals are not being 
reached by the Sunday schools already in existence, nor 
are new Sunday schools provided in sufiicient numbers 

268 



HOW TO INCREASE ATTENDANCE 

or with sufficient conveniences to accommodate these 
newcomers. 

The question of whether or not Protestant, Christian 
ideals are really to dominate our society in another genera- 
tion lies very largely with the Sunday school to-day. 
The home and the public school are not solving the 
problem. 

Undoubtedly, we need more Sunday schools in our 
rural sections and in our sparsely settled frontier dis- 
tricts. The attendance of pupils at Sunday school is 
practically prohibited in the country by a distance of 
three or four miles, and often a much shorter distance 
proves an insurmountable obstacle. In our cities a few 
blocks often prove to be as effective a barrier to Sunday- 
school attendance as the same number of miles in the 
country. In the congested districts of our great cities 
we have not the necessary number of Sunday schools, 
nor are they adequately equipped to care for the boys 
and girls of native and foreign parentage who live in these 
communities. However, despite the fact that many are 
out of reach of Sunday school, we find only a few schools 
which are definitely aiming to reach all the unreached in 
their own communities. Few are using their own equip- 
ment and resources to the limit. 



269 



II 

THINGS FUNDAMENTAL 

If the Sunday school is to exist it must secure new 
members, as the old members are continually leaving 
the school. It is estimated that in some sections Sunday 
schools change practically their entire personnel every 
four or five years. 

The real problem of Sunday-school attendance, however, 
is not to maintain the Sunday school, but to find some way 
of reaching the unreached. As Marion Lawrance says: 
"Many are unreached. God wants them reached. They 
can be reached." 

No One Method. — In the study of individual Sunday 
schools it becomes quite evident that there is no one 
method of securing Sunday-school attendance which is 
bound to succeed at all times and in all places. No one 
method will work equally well in the same school at dif- 
ferent times, nor will it work equally well with pupils of 
different ages and from different environments. 

Many of the plans which have been used most effectively 
seem so simple that they hardly appear to be worth trying. 
In most cases, however, the simple plans are the best plans. 

The successful Sunday-school worker must be ready 
to get ideas from all sources and to adapt them to local 
conditions. He must be alert continually to watch de- 
tails of development and to study local needs and con- 
ditions. There must be variety and movement, and the 

270 



HOW TO INCREASE ATTENDANCE 

ingenuity of the most active worker will be taxed to the 
limit. 

In every ease the spirit which dominates the workers 
will be more important than the particular methods which 
are used. If a pure and wholesome enthusiasm pervades 
the school the most ordinary methods for developing 
attendance will prove successful, while without this the 
best methods are doomed to failure 

In studying all the notably successful schools one 
comes back at last to a single individual, or a group of 
two or three individuals, to whom the real success of the 
work may be attributed. These individuals have made 
others enthusiastic, and have kept their guiding hands 
on the multitudinous details of an elaborate organiza- 
tion. Some of our most remarkable superintendents have 
been bankers and men of other large business affairs, who 
are accustomed to do their work systematically and to 
look after details with care. 

Filling a Real Need. — The child as well as the adult 
is, in the long run, permanently attracted toward those 
things which satisfy a real need in his life. We cannot, 
therefore, expect to depend upon exhortation, appeal to 
duty, parental compulsion or artificial incentive to secure 
Sunday-school attendance. These are always second- 
rate and always temporary. This does not mean that 
none of these motives or methods should be used, but that 
ultimately the Sunday school must fill a real place in the 
pupil's Hfe or he will discard it. 

The marked tendency to-day to recognize the pupil's 
needs in all Sunday-school activity strikes at the very root 
of the problem, and this is already reacting favorably 

271 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

upon the matter of attendance. We have discovered 
that the Sunday school exists for the sake of the pupil, and 
in this discovery we have found the key to Sunday-school 
attendance. When the Sunday school fills a felt need in 
the life of the pupil no methods can keep him away. 
Henry F. Cope says, "A great many schools are using up 
a lot of energy urging everyone to come to nothing." 
There is doubtless much truth in this. There is little 
value in getting more pupils into the Sunday school than 
can be handled satisfactorily, or in urging people to come 
to a school where there is nothing worth while when they 
arrive. This fact is not an excuse for inactivity, but a 
challenge to individual Christians to make their Sunday 
schools worth while, and then to see that the last person 
is brought in. 



272 



Ill 



THE STORY OF ONE SCHOOL 

(Attention is drawn to this school because it represents a type 
which abounds in our smaller towns and rural hamlets.) 

In a small town in the northern part of Illinois a man 
with some years' experience in the Christian ministry 
felt that he had never been able to make the progress in 
his work which he had desired. He had done conven- 
tional work with the adults, and he now resolved, as an 
experiment, to give his attention to the children and to 
center his interest in the Sunday school. He had a very 
ordinary Sunday school with an average attendance of 
thirty-five to forty. 

Without attempting any spectacular methods he began 
to get acquainted with children on the street. He took 
pains to talk to them and to invite them to his Sunday 
school. He planned to walk down the street at the time 
when the children were returning from school, so that he 
might get a chance to meet them. Wherever children 
were likely to be, he arranged in an unobtrusive way to be 
present. Instead of an acquaintance he became their 
friend. 

How the School Grew. — In a year his Sunday school 
developed to an average attendance of sixty to seventy- 
five. The second year the average attendance for the 
entire year was ninety-two, and the third year one hun- 

273 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

dred and thirty, with a definite aim at one hundred 
and fifty. 

The pastor acted as his own superintendent. He had 
numerous assistants on whom he could call at any time, 
but he stayed in charge of the work. 

He arranged to have something new and interesting 
in the service each Sunday. He had special features for 
the opening and for the closing. There was nothing 
spectacular, but always something to rouse interest, and 
the pupils never knew just what was coming. 

He at once saw the value of the graded school, with 
lessons adapted to the pupils' needs and interests, and he 
proceeded to grade his school thoroughly. In the hands 
of good teachers these lessons became perhaps the greatest 
single drawing feature of the Sunday-school session. 

Special Days. — He made a great deal of the special 
days. He always kept something ahead for the pupils 
to anticipate. Rally Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christ- 
mas, New Year's, Washington's Birthday, Lincoln's 
Birthday, Easter and Children's Day were all appropri- 
ately observed. He did not have special exercises, but 
there was something a little unusual on all these 
occasions. 

In addition to these days a May Party was held each 
spring in the church parlors, and for a month this was the 
talk of the school. Every pupil received a written invita- 
tion to this party. To the invitations for the younger 
pupils was added the phrase, "Bring Mamma and 
Papa." 

In fact, all such special occasions were remembered by 
written invitations to the pupils. These were not mailed, 

274 



HOW TO INCREASE ATTENDANCE 

but were personally addressed and given to the individuals 
on Sunday. 

The picnic during the summer was also a feature which 
added interest to the life of the school. This was planned 
and worked up with great care. 

Teachers' conferences were held once or twice a month 
at which the department work was emphasized. This 
not only helped to improve the methods of the workers 
but also created an esprit de corps among them. 

Pupils' Cooperation. — Particular care was taken not 
to invite pupils from other Sunday schools, but the pupils 
and teachers worked together to secure such persons as 
were not enrolled elsewhere. In some cases class members 
were known to call up other members of the class to make 
sure that they would all be present at the Sunday-school 
session in order that the high record for their classes might 
be kept up. This was done without any direct suggestion 
on the part of teachers or parents. 

Caring for Supplies. — One unusual feature In connection 
with this Sunday school was the emphasis placed upon 
caring for the supplies. The introduction of graded 
lessons gave an opportunity for this. The superintendent 
believed that the pupils would not place a higher value 
upon the lesson helps, and consequently upon the Sunday 
school, than did he. Accordingly, he emphasized the im- 
portance of caring for the lesson helps; they were not to 
be rolled up, nor were they to be lost or disfigured in any 
way. They were to be kept so neatly that they could be 
used again by another class. This was not only a matter 
of economy, but it gave the pupils a real sense of respon- 

275 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

sibility. Occasionally a lesson help was rolled. In such 
a case there was no harsh criticism. It was kindly sug- 
gested, however, that the only possible way to remedy 
the injury was to dampen carefully the cover of the book 
and place it between two larger books over night or until 
dry. This proved effective and the pupils learned to 
care for their helps. The great gain, however, was that 
they began to consider them of real value and to see a 
reason for this unusual care. 

Dignity in Sunday School. — Everything about the school 
was done with dignity and was considered important. 
For example, when the adult class did not come into the 
closing exercises of the school, a messenger was dispatched 
by the superintendent to carry the report of the day 
to this class. No matter was allowed to be regarded 
trivial. 

There was no scolding or finding fault with the pupils, 
but special effort was made to show that the superintend- 
ent and the teachers trusted them. Again and again the 
superintendent said something like this: "This Sunday 
school will succeed because it has so many active boys and 
girls who are interested in its welfare." 

Not a Miracle, but Hard Work. — No miracle accounts 
for this most remarkable development of a small school. 
This is simply the case of one individual in a small town 
believing in the possibilities of Sunday-school attendance, 
and going ahead without spectacular methods to reach 
individual boys and girls, and then to make the Sunday 
school so worth while that when they came once they 
wished to come again. 

276 



HOW TO INCREASE ATTENDANCE 

At a recent communion this pastor took into the church 
sixteen young people from his Sunday school, all of whom 
had had personal instruction from him as to the meaning 
of this step. They knew him as a friend and gladly opened 
their hearts to him on these personal matters. 

One remarkable result in this case was that parents 
who had not been reached by any other method became 
church attendants without urging, because the Sunday 
school had reached the children. 



277 



IV 

SOME SUCCESSFUL SCHOOLS 

Brazil, Indiana. — Within the last few years the First 
Methodist Episcopal Sunday School of Brazil, Indiana, 
has attracted widespread attention. On Easter Sunday, 
April 26, 1911, by what seemed to many a most spectacular 
and phenomenal record, this school became the largest 
Sunday school in the world. 

The growth within a period of one year had been most 
wonderful, and yet, as one reads the story of the school, 
there is the feeling that it was not the campaign of a year 
which accounted for the remarkable results, but rather 
the many years of work of a superintendent with a long 
experience. He had laid the foundations, and had gotten 
together a corps of workers who were filled with his spirit 
and with the Spirit of the Master, and who were willing 
to sacrifice and to labor both for the school and for the 
development of the kingdom. 

This remarkable Sunday school of nearly five thousand 
enrollment in a town of only a little over nine thousand 
inhabitants shows the possibilities of Sunday-school de- 
velopment when the workers are really enthusiastic. 
It was the spirit which dominated this school rather 
than any method which accounted for this growth. 

The value of a slogan both for the school and for the 
individual classes was well demonstrated in the campaign 
for increase which this school waged. The motto of the 
entire school was this, "This School Seeks the Last One." 
The men's Bible class took for its motto, "The Largest 

278 



HOW TO INCREASE ATTENDANCE 

Men's Bible Class in the Largest Sunday School in the 
World." As the pastor says, "This was a big cry, but the 
men flung it far." Their slogan was ''Every man get a 
man," and the slogan itself added spirit to their work. 
Other classes adopted similar mottoes with equal success. 
"Every member of the church in the Sunday school, and 
every member of the Sunday school in the Church" was 
heard far and wide. 

The attempt to double the enrollment of the school 
within the space of one year was successful. When the 
Cradle Roll forged ahead and became the largest Cradle 
Roll in the world, with 818 babies enrolled, the whole 
school caught the spirit. 

Much might be written about the success of this great 
Sunday school, but it would be hard to put one's finger 
on the one thing which accounted for the remarkable 
development. There was a spirit of deep consecration 
and a willingness to sacrifice for the work. There was 
no hanging back, but everyone was willing to fall in and 
adopt plans suggested by the leaders. It was this will- 
ingness to cooperate which made possible achievements 
greater than any individuals working independently could 
have accomplished. 

As the result of the experience of this school the pastor 
summarizes the three great external elements as follows: 

1. Organization — thorough, compact and complete. 

2. Publicity — sane, sound, attractive and original. 

3. Solicitation — carrying your goods to the market as 
the business man solicits the retailer. 

In Brazil organization was back of publicity. The 
newspapers were used and were filled with items in regard 

279 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

to the school. Printer's ink was found most effective. 
Nothing, however, succeeded like the personal solicitation 
by the superintendent, teachers and the class members. 

Brookl3ni, New York. — ^The Bushwick Avenue Metho- 
dist Episcopal Sunday School of Brooklyn has had an equal 
success by similar methods, although under other circum- 
stances. Here we have a little mission Sunday school 
which developed until it in its turn became the largest 
Sunday school. There has not been the rapid growth 
which characterized the Brazil school, but the spirit and 
the methods have not been very different. 

In one respect, however, the Bushwick Avenue school 
differs from the Brazil school. One of the important 
features of the school at Brazil is the adult development, 
but as one visits the Bushwick Avenue Sunday school the 
absence of a regular Adult Department is quite marked. 
The workers in the Bushwick school are glad to have 
adults in the Sunday school, but they expect them to go 
to work. They therefore utilize the adults as teachers, 
librarians, secretaries, ushers and in various other posi- 
tions. There are large numbers of adults in the school, 
but most of them have regular tasks. A few are taught 
in classes, but there is no such remarkable adult class as 
the one in Brazil. 

The evangelistic spirit is kept to the front, and it is 
impossible for a visitor to go into this school without feel- 
ing the throb of a real religious life. 

The school tries to show its interest in the pupils by 
helping them in every possible way. An employment 
bureau is a part of the work, and from Sunday to Sunday, 
as opportunities for employment come, these are an- 

280 



HOW TO INCREASE ATTENDANCE 

nounced before the school. Many of the pupils who are 
in need of work are in this way placed in satisfactory 
positions. 

The social side of the class and department groups is 
also a feature, although the school is much too large to 
make social gatherings of the entire group possible. 

In this case, however, as in the case of the Brazil school, 
we come back to one man. Without him and his long 
years of patient labor as a background the Bushwick 
Avenue school would not be possible. 

Holding Its Pupils. — A short time ago, when the Child 
Welfare Exhibit was held in one of our great cities, an 
attempt was made to find which Sunday school held its 
pupils best during the critical years of adolescence. The 
school which apparently did this task best was charac- 
terized by the following: 

(a) The school was entirely graded. 

(6) Much was made of the home work. 

(c) The classes were organized by years, as in high 
school. 

(d) There was a definite time for graduation (20 years 
of age). 

(e) Each teacher acted as a sub-pastor, feeling a sense 
of responsibility for the pupils in his care. 

(/) Pupils graduated from the Sunday school into the 
Graduate or Adult Department. 

It was found that this Sunday school held its pupils 
not only during the years of adolescence, but that they 
returned and kept up their connection with the school 
after their graduation. 

The organization into classes known by the year in 
281 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

which they were to graduate was found to be most satis- 
factory. This was not carried below the four high-school 
years. For example, those to graduate in 1916 were 
known as the 1916 class; those to graduate in 1915, the 
1915 class, and so on. This gave an opportunity for a real 
class spirit, class songs, mottoes, class socials and a genu- 
ine class life. Of course, this did not interfere with the 
teaching of class groups, which were small, as in other 
schools, but there was this larger loyalty among those 
who were to graduate during a given year. For holding 
adolescents the value of a definite time for graduation 
after completing a graded course of study can hardly be 
overemphasized. 



282 



GENERAL METHODS WHICH HAVE BEEN USED 

The Survey Method. — One of the methods which has 
been tried recently in a number of schools is the survey 
method. This is in line with the spirit of the times. It 
gives the workers definite information in regard to the 
conditions in their own field, and this alone is usually 
enough to inspire them to activity. The survey may be 
made by a special committee, an adult class or any other 
authorized group. The work must be done wisely and 
tactfully and all the information carefully tabulated, if 
the best results are to be secured. A distinct effort 
should be made to secure accurate information. 

Curious things have been revealed by the surveys. 
In a few cases schools have discovered they did not 
have so large a field, especially among the children, as 
they had supposed, but in most cases the opposite was 
true, and it has been found that there were far more 
individuals unreached than anyone had imagined. In 
any case, however, the setting of definite limits to the field, 
and the making of a survey to discover the number of 
individuals living within them, the number attending 
Sunday school or connected with other religious schools, 
the number of children of school age and the number 
unreached by any Sunday school, place the task of the 
school so clearly before it that nothing but good can result. 
The survey itself will, of course, accomplish little. It 
must be followed by personal work. 

283 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

Promotion and Publicity Department. — One Sunday 
school in Chicago organized a Promotion and Publicity 
Department, with the most satisfactory results. A very 
marked increase in membership and attendance followed 
the work of this department. The plan was to keep in 
touch with the entire district and to know what was 
happening. Vacant houses and moving vans were 
watched, and as soon as a new family came into the com- 
munity, it was visited by some member of the school. 
Children were at once invited to attend the Sunday 
school, if they were not already members of some other 
school. 

Card Files. — Card files were kept, so that the informa- 
tion obtained by the volunteer visitors could be on file for 
future use. One or two persons in the block were held 
particularly responsible for the territory near their homes. 
They either reported newcomers to the head of the Pub- 
licity Department or visited them and then reported the 
results of their visit. Other schools have tried a similar 
method with success. 

Following Up Absentees. — ^A good many schools have 
tried this method, and its advantages are very evident. 
There are many systems of attending to this matter. 
In some places it is attended to by a regular visitor, who 
calls upon pupils if they are absent even one Sunday. 
In other cases a reminder is sent by mail. This is of va- 
rious types. In some cases it contains a suggestion that 
the pupil may be sick or in trouble; while in other cases 
it is simply a reminder of absence with an invitation to 
return. Some schools have a different reminder which is 
sent out after two absences. 

284 



HOW TO INCREASE ATTENDANCE 

The Progressive FoUow-Up System. — A school in Engle- 
wood, Illinois, has a progressive follow-up system by which 
each successive absence brings a personal call, a 'phone 
message or a notice from another official one step higher 
up. The first week the teacher looks after the matter; 
the second week, the general secretary of the school; the 
third week, the department superintendent, and the fourth 
week, without excuse, the general superintendent. Other 
schools have similar plans. 

Following Up Lost Pupils.— Most Sunday-school work- 
ers have not felt any particular responsibility for inform- 
ing other Sunday schools of pupils moving into their 
locality. More and more this is being done, but a more 
elaborate system of cooperation should be developed. 
Sunday-school superintendents ought to feel responsible 
for every person who moves from a community and thereby 
gives up Sunday-school membership, until that person is 
satisfactorily located in another school. 

**Round-Up" Sunday. — In some schools in New York 
City "Round-up Sunday" has been used with great 
effect. This is similar in its idea to Rally Day, except 
that it comes at a different time of the year, and the idea 
is to "round up" everyone who can be reached. This 
method has been used by individual schools and by large 
groups of schools to good advantage. The feeling that 
other schools in the local community are cooperating in 
a general movement helps to add enthusiasm to the work. 

Attention to the Opening Devotional Service. — One 
school in New York aims particularly to emphasize the 
opening devotional period, and to make this so interesting 

285 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

that the pupils do not care to miss it. They are careful 
also to prevent any disturbance during this period, and 
late comers are sometimes asked to remain outside if 
their entrance would interfere with the service. It was 
found that the pupils really enjoyed this service, every 
portion of which was arranged with them in mind, and 
that it proved a real incentive to Sunday-school attend- 
ance and to early attendance. A Sunday-school orchestra 
is a real help in this connection. 

Early and Late Signs. — Some schools lay a good deal of 
stress on prompt attendance, making use of the signs 
"I am late" and "I am early." Some of the most suc- 
cessful Sunday schools, however, have paid very little 
attention to this matter, but have depended upon the 
general interest to keep up a prompt attendance. 

The Bushwick Avenue school in Brooklyn works on 
the theory that it is better for a pupil to be in the Sunday 
school for a portion of the hour than not to be there at all, 
and so they do not emphasize early and late aspects of 
attendance, lest some should be discouraged from coming. 

Secretary's Report. — In many schools this is made 
prominent, and it is a factor in keeping up the interest 
in attendance. Comparative reports showing relative 
attendance of one Sunday with the attendance one year 
previous never lose their interest, and are undoubtedly an 
incentive. A homemade board or chart may be used 
for this purpose. 

In some cases a thermometer, showing the temperature 
of the school as tested by its attendance, has been used 
satisfactorily. 

In other cases comparative curves made on easily pre- 

286 



HOW TO INCREASE ATTENDANCE 

pared coordinate paper were of interest; these may be 
made to cover a period of three months, an entire year or 
even five years. These are readily understood, and al- 
ways remind pupils and teachers of the general trend of 
the school, whether it be up or down. 

A school in Topeka, Kansas, has a system of compara- 
tive charts which are prepared annually, showing the 
relative growth of the various departments. A circle 
is divided into segments, one being allowed to the Be- 
ginners, another each to the Primary, Junior, Intermediate, 
Senior and Adult departments. Officers and teachers also 
have a segment. These comparative charts show the 
relative growth of the departments from year to year and 
also the addition of new departments. This school lays 
a great deal of emphasis upon the Sunday-school records. 
The aim is to have as little of this work done by the teacher 
as possible and as much by the regular secretaries. The 
reason for this is twofold: First, many teachers do not 
take an interest in the secretarial side of the work; and, 
second, the teacher's time is thus left free for other work. 

A Well-Equipped Building. — ^Many superintendents feel 
that a large element in their success is the well-equipped 
building at their disposal. The separate classrooms 
and department rooms, with their roller partitions and 
other features, tend to make the workers and the pupils 
comfortable and to make the Sunday-school session a 
pleasure. Many schools are now working toward per- 
manent classrooms which can be closed up or opened at 
the disposal of the class during the week. Such a room 
gives the pupil a sense of proprietorship which does not 
come with a room inclosed only by roller doors. 

287 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

The Home Department.— The organization of a Home 
Department makes the work of the Sunday-school visitor 
easy. There is always a proper channel for the enroll- 
ment of all the members in the family. Many who be- 
come interested in the Home Department later find it 
possible to attend the regular sessions of the school. 

Withdrawal Cards.— Some schools insist upon a with- 
drawal request on the part of the pupils before they are 
released from membership. They have thus found it 
possible to keep track of all those who have dropped 
from the rolls and to know the reason for their dismissal. 
The value of this is not likely to be overemphasized, as 
it enables superintendents to place pupils in case of re- 
moval in touch with other schools. 

Standard of Membership.— Some schools have a 
definite though simple standard of membership and a 
formal reception of new members. Without doubt, this 
gives a feeling of responsibility to the newcomer, and 
is a real asset in securing regular attendance. In some 
cases consecutive attendance for a period of three weeks 
is required for membership. In other cases it is simply 
the declaration of intention to become a member of the 
Sunday school and to work for its welfare. 

Printed Announcements. — Many schools print leaflets 
describing their organization, their curriculum, the dates 
of the school year, special occasions, plans for the school 
worship and other items of interest. These give dignity 
to all the Sunday-school functions and call attention to 
unrecognized values in the Sunday school. Church 

288 



HOW TO INCREASE ATTENDANCE 

bulletins may also be used for a similar purpose. A 
Sunday-school bulletin, containing notes from the librarian, 
from the secretary and other oflScers of the school, together 
with items of interest about the school in general and in- 
dividual pupils, may be used to good advantage. In some 
cases the pupils themselves could prepare and print this 
bulletin. 

A Combination Service. — ^A church and Sunday school 
in McKeesport, Pennsylvania, has tried with marked suc- 
cess a combination morning service. This accomplished 
two things: It got the children into the preaching serv- 
ice and it got the adults into the Sunday school. The 
enrollment of the Sunday school has grown considerably 
and the average attendance has been larger than for five 
years previous. A few other schools are trying a similar 
arrangement. It emphasizes the teaching function of 
the Church and also partially solves the problem of the 
multiplicity of services on Sunday. 

Extension Work. — ^This is, according to Dr. Cope, a 
broadening out of the Home Department idea. Men in 
the shops and factories might be reached by such a 
method. Then there are hospitals, prisons and other 
institutions for which some Sunday school should become 
responsible. Summer camps and resorts and boarding 
houses also furnish groups often entirely unreached. 
The possibility of this extension work is almost unlimited, 
and schools might well be proud to have numerous 
branches extending out to these needy fields. Corre- 
spondence classes might even be developed. 



289 



VI 

REACHING THE CHILD 

Fundamentally, the problem of Sunday-school attend- 
ance is the problem of getting hold of the child. We are 
proud of our adult classes and of all that the Bible class 
has accomplished. We are always glad to have the adults 
in our Sunday schools, but the children we must have or 
fail. The value of the Sunday school, as of all schools, is, 
and always must be, greatest for the individual in the 
process of development. 

Ministry to Young Parents. — One school in the Middle 
West made a good deal of its ministry to the young 
parents, feeling that if the school was to have a healthy 
development it must get hold of children at an early age. 
This service for the parents consisted in providing appro- 
priate literature dealing with the care and nurture of in- 
fants and with problems of parenthood. Storybooks 
appropriate for parents' use were also provided. Once 
a year a special party was given for all the young married 
people. This was usually given on Washington's Birth- 
day, and was made a prominent feature of the year's 
work. Having thus secured the interest of the parents, 
it was not difficult to secure the child for Sunday school 
when the proper age was reached. 

Cradle Roll. — In connection with the method just 
described, the importance of the Cradle Roll should be sug- 

290 



HOW TO INCREASE ATTENDANCE 

gested. Much has been written upon Cradle-Roll methods^ 
and it is unnecessary to go into detail in regard to these. 
The value of this can hardly be overestimated. It se- 
cures the cooperation of the parent, and the value to the 
child as he comes to the years of understanding in real- 
izing that he has for a long time been connected with the 
Sunday school is of considerable importance. The annual 
reception for Cradle-Roll members is a most effective 
way of keeping hold of the parents and thus enlisting the 
pupils at an early age in the school. 

Children's Sermons. — Many schools are now merging 
the closing exercises of the Sunday school with the opening 
exercises of the church service, a children's sermon being 
a feature of this, the children then passing out at the proper 
time. Without doubt, this helps to bind the pupil to the 
church, and also to make Sunday-school attendance worth 
while. 

The Value of the ICindergarten. — ^The kindergarten is 
of great value as a feeder of the Sunday school. If this 
is made interesting and helpful, the child forms the habit 
of Sunday-school attendance so young that he feels a 
real disappointment if he is obliged to be absent. The 
kindergarten operated in close cooperation with the Cradle 
Roll is a most effective method of building up the Sunday- 
school enrollment from the most promising material. 

Cooperation with Parents. — One school which kept a 
careful record of the causes of absence of its pupils found 
that in fifty per cent of the cases it was due to lack of 
cooperation on the part of the parents. This cooperation 

291 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

can be secured by giving the parents the idea that the 
Sunday-school worker is really interested in the welfare 
of the pupil, and expects the parents to do their share in 
the development of the child. 

Reaching Children Through Parents. — ^After careful 
study of the situation, Rev. William Walter Smith feels 
sure that the solution of the attendance problem lies in an 
approach to the parents. This is effected through a series 
of small penny pamphlets, specially prepared and worked 
over by a number of recognized experts. These cover 
plain truths directed to parents, couched in simple and 
unmistakable language. One school, by the use of these 
pamphlets, increased its attendance in two weeks from 
seventy-four to one hundred and ninety-two, and in two 
weeks more to two hundred and twenty-five. Nothing 
else was done by this school during this period to secure 
an increase of membership. As Dr. Smith says: "This was 
evidently an unworked field, and this result could not be 
possible in a locality where there was no great number 
of unreached children." 

Parents' meetings and other similar methods will also 
reach the child through the home. Giving the parent to 
understand that the Sunday school is simply working with 
him and that he is responsible for a good portion of the 
result is always beneficial. Parents' Days in the Sunday 
school, mothers' meetings and other like plans will con- 
tribute to this end. One remarkable Sunday school in 
Chicago has an attendance of over six hundred, and they 
are not conscious of using any methods to secure this at- 
tendance. They attribute it entirely to the European 
Protestant traditions in the home. 

292 



HOW TO INCREASE ATTENDANCE 

Rewards. — In mission Sunday schools particularly, 
rewards have been used to good advantage. One Sunday- 
school missionary always gave a Testament to children 
who came to Sunday school every Sunday for three months 
and learned the title of the lesson and the golden text 
each Sunday. For pupils over thirteen who did these 
things, and learned in addition the Twenty-third Psalm, 
the Lord's Prayer, the Beatitudes, the Ten Command- 
ments, a Bible was the reward. This was very wholesome 
and gave an opportunity to place Bibles in homes where 
no Bibles had hitherto been. Among a more favored 
class of pupils, however, this would not be so successful 
or desirable. 



293 



VII 
THE ^TEEN" AGE 

Nowhere has Sunday-school leakage been greater than 
during the adolescent period. Experience has shown, 
however, that losses here can be eliminated by careful 
and earnest work. 

Organized Classes. — At no time is it more essential that 
classes be organized than during the "teen" age, when the 
natural grouping instinct is strongest. The successful 
organized classes, however, are those which have a definite 
purpose and genuine activity. Organization for the sake 
of organization is not of great value. 

Athletics. — ^There is no doubt that well-organized 
athletics, either in the gymnasium or on the ball ground, 
will do much to keep up the interest and enthusiasm of the 
boys. The opportunity here, however, is much more 
than that of keeping hold of the boys. There are few 
places where moral and religious ideas can be more effi- 
ciently taught and put into practice than in sport. Club- 
rooms for boys under proper supervision are equally val- 
uable. The supervision of a man is most desirable here. 

A Baseball League. — ^The four Sunday schools of Co- 
lumbus, Kansas, organized a Baseball League, with two 
games scheduled for each week. These were played on 
the village green at six o'clock in the evening. No person 

294 



HOW TO INCREASE ATTENDANCE 

was allowed to play who did not attend Sunday school at 
least fifty per cent of the time, and every player must 
have been a Sunday-school member for at least two weeks. 
A wholesome rivalry sprang up and the townspeople 
attended the games in large numbers. Not only were 
the Sunday schools permanently built up, but a number 
of young men were brought into the church as a result. 
Most of the players were from eighteen to twenty-three 
years of age. During the winter a Basket-ball League 
was organized. 

Summer Camps. — ^Many schools are making use of the 
Summer Camp for boys with most satisfactory results. 

Department Organization and Promotion Days. — A 

thorough department organization, with well-established 
promotion days, makes the pupil feel that he is pro- 
gressing, and his interest is much more easily retained 
than in a group which goes round and round in a 
treadmill and never arrives anywhere. 

Pastor's Bodyguard. — Junior boys can be used as a 
pastor's bodyguard to assist him in various ways. The 
feeling of responsibility and importance which thus 
comes is another link to bind the young people to the 
school. 

Reaching the Boys. — One Sunday-school worker who 
has been most successful in persuading boys to attend 
the Sunday school, and in interesting them when they are 
there, sums up his experience as follows: 

(a) Show the boys they are wanted. 
295 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

(b) Treat them as friends and not acquaintances. 

(c) Provide social functions. 

(d) Set them at work. 

Class Loyalty. — ^This can be promoted through class 
exhibits, class pins, badges, membership certificates, 
class social functions, class banners and a class flower. 
A class name is also of the first importance. 

"Messenger Cadets." — ^The Moody Church Sunday 
school, Chicago, Illinois, has a system of Messenger Cadets 
to look after the first and second Sunday's absentees. 
The Sunday-school visitor calls upon the absentees for the 
third Sunday, and the fourth Sunday, the superintendent 
takes up the matter by letter. After the fifth Sunday 
the name is dropped from the roll if there is no good reason 
for absence. In one week the Messenger Cadets made 
ninety-two calls and returned a total of twenty-five pupils. 
One school made use of these messenger boys to deliver 
telegrams to absent pupils. 

Pupils as Promoters. — ^The value of the pupils as at- 
tendance promoters should never be forgotten. Pupils 
can reach other individuals of their own age more satis- 
factorily than can adults. They intuitively understand 
the feelings and motives of their companions and know 
how to get hold of them for the Sunday school. 

Vacant House Brigade. — One school organized a Vacant 
House Brigade. "For Sale" and "For Rent" signs were 
watched, and as soon as such a sign disappeared a call was 
made by a member of the Brigade or this fact was reported 

296 



HOW TO INCREASE ATTENDANCE 

to the authorities of the school. In this way some people 
who moved into the community during the week were 
brought into the school the first Sunday. 

Information Blank. — Some schools prepare information 
blanks, so that the pupils can provide information con- 
cerning brothers, sisters, acquaintances and neighbors. 
This always indicates whether or not these individuals 
belong to any other Sunday school. This saves the time 
of house-to-house canvassing, by which much time can be 
wasted. This, followed up by a personal letter or visit, 
will often bring new members into the school. If an invi- 
tation is sent by letter, a card of acceptance to be returned 
may be included. 

Rewards for New Members. — ^These are of many kinds 
and sorts and they are advertised widely. There is a 
real danger, however, that individuals will be approached 
with wrong motives and also that the credit for securing 
pupils may go to the wrong person. All such plans 
should be adopted with great caution, although in many 
cases they have produced genuine results. Probably some 
simple recognition of such service would be better than a 
reward. 

Reception of New Pupils. — Pupils should be made to 
feel that they really have become members of the school, 
and nothing will add more to this than a public reception 
of the new members each Sunday. Many schools make 
much of this, and there is no doubt that it is a real factor 
in keeping the new members faithful to their obligations. 

In connection with this reception the secretary may well 
297 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

get the previous Sunday-school record of the pupil on an 
enrollment blank or school album. This will impress the 
pupil with the importance of a good, clear Sunday-school 
record. It is suggested that a neat card of greeting, with 
a calendar of church services, also be given to the new 
pupil, together with a certificate of membership. 

The Assi^ing Officer. — ^Another factor is that of 
getting the pupil located in the proper department and 
class. Many schools are now setting aside a separate 
officer whose one duty it is to see that new pupils are 
assigned to the proper classes. 

Letter to Parents. — In some schools, as soon as a pupil 
applies for admission, a letter is sent to the parents, asking 
their cooperation, and a certificate of approval is inclosed 
for the parents to sign. The church missionary then 
visits the home before the child is fully admitted to the 
school. All this tends to make the parent as well as the 
pupil take the Sunday-school membership seriously and 
to make unusual efforts that the attendance shall be regu- 
lar. A system of reports to the parents can also be used 
to advantage. 

Birthday Letters. — A careful record of the birthdays of 
the pupils is kept and each one receives from teacher or 
superintendent a birthday letter. This not only serves 
as a bond between the pupil and the school, but it also 
affords opportunity to talk intimately about serious and 
vital problems. 

The Union School. — ^Many of the smaller communities 
have solved their problems by establishing union schools. 

298 



HOW TO INCREASE ATTENDANCE 

In a little town in Montana tlie Presbyterians, Baptistj^ 
and Methodists — although they could not accept real 
Christian unity — decided upon a union Sunday school. 
They found that a Sunday school of one hundred and fifty 
members was a great deal more spirited and effective than 
three Sunday schools of fifty each. Other communities 
have tried the same plan with marked success. A large 
school grows more readily than a small school, and it is 
much easier to reach all the individuals in a community 
by one large school than by three or four weak and strug- 
gling schools. The great gain is with the young people> 
who are together in their public-school and social life 
and do not like to be separated on Sundays. 

Contests. — Many kinds of contests have been used to 
increase attendance. In some cases the contests have 
been between classes, in other cases between equally di- 
vided groups, and in a few cases between schools in near- 
by communities. The testimony of many Sunday schools, 
however, is that the contest method has to be used with 
great caution. There is danger that credit may go to the 
wrong individuals, and the chance for misunderstandings 
and ill will is very large. Many schools, however, have 
used various types of contest with considerable success, 
at least so far as increasing attendance is concerned. 

Recognition of Attendance. — ^This may take the form 
of a recognition of perfect attendance of class groups, or 
of individuals, or both. It is probably well, however, to 
emphasize group loyalties, although there is much to be 
said in favor of individual records. This recognition is 
quite general in the larger Sunday schools, and in many 

299 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

cases in the smaller schools. Sometimes a banner is pre- 
sented to the class on the day on which it has a perfect 
record in the matter of attendance. At the end of the 
month another banner or another recognition is planned if 
the class has been perfect in attendance during the month. 
At the end of the year a permanent trophy is appropriate. 
There are many button systems, such as the Cross and 
Crown system, with recognition for individuals who have 
a perfect attendance record for periods of from one month 
to five or six or even ten years. No one of these methods 
will hold the interest of the entire school continuously, but 
they may be used for considerable periods with success. 

The Honor Roll. — This is one of the very best ways of 
recognizing regular attendance on the part of the pupils, 
and many Sunday-school members point with pride to 
their names on the permanent Honor Roll of the school. 
These are of many kinds. They may be secured from 
various publishing holjses ot prepared locally. 

Making Use of Church Officials and Business Men.— 
Nothing will add more dignity to the school than to have 
the church officials take an active interest in its conduct. 
Strong business men utilized as teachers are always a 
drawing card for the young men, and capable women are 
equally effective for the girls. H. H. Pike, superintendent 
of St. George's Sunday school. New York, says: ''Hold 
strong men and women as teachexs and you will hold the 
young men." 



300 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WOEK 



MISSIONARY EDUCATION IN THE SUNDAY 
SCHOOL 



RALPH E. DIFFENDORFER 



301 



MISSION AEY EDUCATION IN THE SUN- 
DAY SCHOOL 



THE POINT OF VIEW 

These chapters are written from the point of view that 
the missionary life and spirit are natural and essential 
characteristics of all Christian living. Loving God and 
our fellow men is the sum of the commandments. This 
point of view rejects the possibility of a man's being a real 
Christian at all unless he is vitally missionary — yes, 
imless he is vitally a missionary — that is, unless he has a 
genuine regard for the needs of all God's children and a 
passion for the spread of the gospel of "good news," and 
gives himself in some way to the task, even unto sacri- 
fice. The ultimate missionary motive is a complete and 
satisfying religious experience — one that fills the be- 
liever's life so full of Christian joy and happiness that he 
craves for the whole world the same blessing. No person 
can be a missionary until he himself has taken voluntarily 
the high purposes of God for his own personal life. 

If we all agree that the missionary spirit is the very es- 
sence and core of Christian living, as most of us do, then 
we must be prepared to give it the central place in the 
educational process. When parents, teachers, ministers 
and other Christian leaders desire to educate a generation 
of children and youth in the ideals and practice of Chris- 

303 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

tian living, the first question regarding training in the true 
missionary spirit and work which they must face is: Will 
you accept the above point of view and be wiUing to follow 
its implications? 

Those of the present generation of Christians who re- 
gard the missionary work of the Church as something 
"special," "optional," "irregular" or "over and above" 
the "regular" were never taught to regard it in any other 
terms. 

This point of view, then, means two things: 

(1) Those who teach and lead children and youth must 
give missions the central place in their own thinking and 
living. 

(2) The educational methods and material used must 
bear this same essential relation to all of those processes 
whereby children and youth are guided into complete 
Christian living. 



304 



II 



THE MISSIONARY COMMITTEE IN THE SUNDAY 
SCHOOL 

Ideally there would be no place for a Missionary Com- 
mittee in the Sunday school. If all of the officers and 
teachers themselves had been trained in accordance with 
the principles just mentioned there would be no need for 
a "special'' machinery to educate the Church in its main 
business. Unfortunately, however, this is not the case. 
Until some generation produces a real missionary church 
it will be necessary for those who are interested and trained 
to take charge of the educational work which will help 
to produce such a missionary church. 

Let all Sunday schools whose leaders feel they have not 
attained the ideal, organize strong missionary committees. 
Let them be regularly appointed or elected, and let them 
be strong and capable in educational matters and sanely 
missionary. 

The Make-Up of the Committee. — ^The committee may 
consist of five or more members, as the size of the school 
demands. These members may represent the different 
departments of the school. The chairman should be a 
member of the Church Missionary Committee, a body 
noW recommended as the unifying and clearing force for 
all the missionary organizations of the local church.^ 

1 See pamphlet, "The Church Missionary Committee," price 5 
cents. 

305 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

General Suggestions. — Even though this committee 
may be considered a special agency, there are a few general 
suggestions, implications of the above point of view, which 
will help us to regard its work and the results as essential 
and not optional : 

1. The appointment of the committee and the plans 
of work should not be heralded throughout the school as 
a provision of the authorities for making the school more 
missionary. There is some doubt as to whether or not 
the boys and girls need to know anything about the com- 
mittee at all. 

2. On the other hand, the school officers and teachers 
should plan that the work of the committee may find ex- 
pression in the regular and normal life of the school. 

3. Thus the committee itself will not attempt to do the 
work of missionary education in the school, but will en- 
deavor to interest, arouse and help each officer and teacher 
to incorporate missionary teaching and activity into his 
own endeavor. The committee, once appointed, should 
stand off, as it were, and take stock of the regular machin- 
ery of the school through which it may seek to accomplish 
its ends. Rather than add a new department to the or- 
ganization of the school, it should seek to "missionarize" 
the teachers and officers. The committee's relationship 
will be suggested in the diagram on page 307. 

Thus the Missionary Committee will be back of the 
regular organization of the school; and all of its 
methods, material, activities and service will come before 
the pupils as regular and necessary parts of their religious 
training. 

4. Not all the officers and teachers will respond with 
offers of cooperation. Whenever any of these fail the 

306 



MISSIONARY EDUCATION 

committee should seek to arouse their interest and win 
their support. 

Summing up these paragraphs, it may be said that the 
purpose of the Missionary Committee in a Sunday school 
is to seek to naturalize the missionary spirit and the work 
of missions in the lives of the members of the Sunday 
school. 



The Sunday-school Organization: 

Pastor 

Superintendent 
Assistant Superintendents 
Secretary- 
Treasurer 
Librarian 
Precentor 
Pianist 

Superintendents and Teachers 
The Missionary J of Departments: 

Committee | Cradle Roll 

Beginners 
Primary- 
Junior 

Intermediate 
Senior 
Adult 

Teacher Training 
Home Department 
Parents' Department 



The Pupils. 



307 



Ill 

GENERAL METHODS 

By taking a broad view of the educational possibilities 
in a Sunday school, the Missionary Committee will find 
that it can attain its aims through the following general 
methods: 

The Exercise of Worship. — ^Training in worship is 
one of the distinguishing features of the Sunday school. 
By organ, piano or other instrumental music, the singing 
of hymns, silent and spoken prayer, the reading of Scrip- 
ture and quiet meditation the pupils may learn how to 
come into the presence of God through Jesus Christ and 
to reahze his attitude to the human race. 

The Development of a Missionary Atmosphere 
Through Environment and Special Occasions. — ^Mis- 
sionary atmosphere is a silent educational force. Its 
presence or absence may be easily felt in homes, schools 
and churches. The appearance of the rooms, the decora- 
tions, the attitude of the leaders and teachers of pupils 
and the enthusiasm in any undertaking create its atmos- 
phere. 

Class Instruction. — Knowledge gives right direction 
to activities born of good impulses. The highest mis- 
sionary endeavor demands knowledge of the needs of 
God's people everywhere, and especially of those who 

308 



MISSIONARY EDUCATION 

pass within our daily experience. It demands a knowl- 
edge of the history, manners, customs and the religious 
aspirations of non-Christian peoples, of the motives, 
methods of work, successes and failures of missionaries, 
and of the transformations of those who have decided to 
take the will of God for their guidance in life. 

This knowledge, made possible by a wide range of lit- 
erature, may be gained best by class instruction and home 
reading. This teaching will, of course, be graded. Mis- 
sionary instruction needs no special pedagogy; in fact, the 
teaching of it is quite similar to that of secular history. 
Missions is but another word, from a different point of 
view, for church history. 

Home Reading with Class Reports. — Until there is 
more adequate provision for all branches of religious 
education, class instruction must be supplemented by 
home reading. Even with a good curriculum the vast 
outreaches of missionary life and endeavor will demand 
additional reading outside the classroom. Fortunately, 
the hst of good missionary reading books for all ages is 
increasing. 

An Adequate System of Giving. — ^The giving of 
money to further God's work is made necessary by the 
need of specialized missionary endeavor and the impos- 
sibility of extending the personal service of Christians to 
all parts of the world. Boys and girls should early be 
taught the principles of stewardship. This will give them 
the right attitude toward all their talents and goods; it 
will show them what money is for, and that it is a means 
to an end in all real living; and it will lead to the forma- 

309 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

tion of some system or regular method of giving which, 
with continued practice, may become habitual. 

The Doing of Personal Service. — Boys and girls must 
be taught that stewardship is applied to more than 
money and goods. Some needs of the world can be met 
by the giving of thought, word and kindly deed, in acts 
of personal service. It is difficult to train generous givers 
of money, but it is also possible for men and women to 
feel that the use of money satisfies the requirements of 
personal service. 

On account of the very close connection between ac- 
tivity, conduct and character the careful planning of 
kindly deeds to those who are in need is one of the Sun- 
day school's greatest educational opportunities. In fact, 
if a Missionary Committee were compelled to choose 
for a beginning from the above general methods, the em- 
phasis should be given to personal service. 

In the succeeding pages these general methods will be 
further discussed, and the order suggested above will 
partially give way to treatment by departments or grades. 



310 



IV 

THE EXERCISE OF WORSHIP 

Worship in a Sunday school usually consists of quiet 
music, the singing of hymns, prayer, reading of Scripture 
and meditation. These exercises are in charge of the 
general superintendent and the departmental assistants. 
How, then, can the Missionary Committee reahze its 
aims through the order of worship? 

Instrumental Music. — A loud, boistrous, highly strung 
orchestra with dance-a-jig music is not conducive either 
to reverential awe in the presence of God or to appre- 
ciation by the souls of men. Then why not aim to make 
use of the best music? The playing of a tribal melody 
of the American Indians or the native air of a foreign 
people or a representative selection from a great author 
who is Magyar, Italian, French, or of some other foreign 
nationality, with proper introductory and explanatory 
sentences by the superintendent may break down prej- 
udice and open the way to genuine sympathy. 

The Singing of Hjmms. — Not all of the best mis- 
sionary hymns are found in that division of the hymnal 
labeled "Missions." An examination of a number of 
popular Sunday-school songbooks showed that not only 
were the titles of most of the songs decidedly individualis- 
tic, with the pronouns "I," "me," "my," "mine," etc., 
predominant, but also the sentiment was selfish. The 

311 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

Missionary Committee can help the superintendent and 
the precentor to discover the best hymns, those conveying 
the meanings of the majesty of the universal power and 
love of God, the breadth of his mercy, the racial aspects 
of the death of Christ, the world-wide extension of the 
kingdom of Christ, the strength of the Church universal 
and the joy and blessedness of the life of Christian service. 
Such hymns may be found, and already the newer emphasis 
on the altruistic and social messages of the gospel are 
finding expression in hymnology. 

Whether or not these hymns convey their missionary 
meanings will depend on the way in which they are in- 
troduced. For instance, *The Church's One Foundation" 
is full of missionary content. Here is the Church erected 
on one foundation, "Jesus Christ her Lord," and built 
like any building of various and sundry materials, "Elect 
from every nation," and yet the whole, like a complete 
house, "One o'er all the earth." 

A hymn does not carry its message merely because the 
words are missionary, but because, having understood its 
meaning, it is then sung well. 

Silent and Spoken Prayer. — No prayer should ever 
be uttered before the young that does not contain some 
reference to missionary enterprise and to the life for others. 
In expressions of adoration, thanksgiving and petition 
public prayer may reiterate and reenforce the lessons of 
activity and study. 

There are times, — ^as after an effective story or some 
other public exercise, — ^when, if the lesson is missionary, 
only silent prayer, guided by an occasional sentence from 
the leader, will bring each soul into the presence of God. 

312 



MISSIONARY EDUCATION 

To be effective, missionary prayer needs to be definite. 
Generalities in prayer dull the spiritual senses. Personal 
references add to definiteness and do not destroy the 
dignity and power of spontaneous prayer. 

A school prayer calendar will help. Take a sheet of 
white art board or Bristol board and print across the top 
some Scriptural reference to prayer and then add columns 
as follows: 

Name Station Work Occasion 



Then let the pupils, of their own initiative, write in the 
names of missionaries for the school's calendar for whom 
public prayer may be offered. Under the caption "Oc- 
casion" the pupils may add the time and manner of their 
point of contact with the missionaries. This prayer 
bulletin may be hung on the wall low enough for all to 
reach and should have a pencil attached. 

Pupils should also be encouraged, through the teachers 
in the classes, to use private prayer calendars. Those 
made by the pupils themselves, in which they can enter 
their own objects for intercession, are preferable. 

Scripture Reading. — ^The missionary value of Scripture 
reading, alternately or collectively, lies in the selection 
of the passage and the appropriate comments by the 
leader. With the coming of the Graded Lessons the 
opportunity for topical reading in the opening exercises 
has been greatly increased. The use of a passage of Scrip- 

313 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

ture on some missionary occasion or its influence in the 
life of a new convert often affords a point of contact for 
effective comments. 

It will be noted from the above suggestions that each 
one of these items in the order of worship needs careful 
preparation. This is the secret, for unless they are well 
done it would be better not to attempt them. 



314 



V 

A MISSIONARY ATMOSPHERE 

By using a few minutes now and then during the open- 
ing or closing exercises, before the main school, in the de- 
partments or individual classes, or by recognizing special 
occasions, the Missionary Committee may produce an 
enthusiasm about the missionary enterprise which will 
prove contagious. Creating such an enthusiasm is a study 
in missionary idealism. 

Teaching Loyalty to the Kingdom. — ^Loyalty to the 
kingdom of God on earth is like the newer patriotism de- 
manding service to one's country. The missionary spirit 
is not dying for the kingdom, but living for it, day by day. 
Patriotism, in so far as it is loyalty to national ideals, is 
imbibed by the young in more striking ways than through 
the study of books. How can we produce loyalty to the 
ideals of the world-wide kingdom of Christ? The question 
may be best answered by drawing an analogy from the 
efforts, common to most nations, to surround growing 
youth with an atmosphere of patriotism and loyalty. 
In addition to the study of the history, geography and gov- 
ernment of a country and of the biographies of its great 
men there may be found the following methods: 

1. The presence of the flag and a regular salute to it. 

2. The erection of commemorative monuments, tablets 
and statues, and the dedication of historical places with 
appropriate exercises. 

315 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

3. The observance of national festivals, public days, 
etc. which are historical, epoch-making days, birthdays, 
memorial days, etc. 

4. The hanging of pictures representing national events 
and the portraits of great heroes and copies of public 
documents on the walls of public buildings, schoolrooms 
and homes. 

5. The organization of patriotic societies and clubs 
among the boys and girls. 

6. The direction of parades, demonstrations, drills, 
exhibits and other forms of arousing popular enthusiasm. 

7. The visits of government officials, army and navy 
veterans, etc., to cities, towns, day schools and homes. 

8. The provision of good storybooks and papers for 
homes and libraries, containing accounts of national heroes 
and events. 

9. Story-telling, especially in the homes, in which the 
glories of the country and the classic tales of its founders 
and supporters are recounted. 

10. The cooperation of the government, the Church, 
the home and the school in all of these matters. 

The application of the above points to the kingdom 
of God on earth, its beginnings, its long and marvelous 
history, its significant epochs and its triumphant martyrs 
and heroes, ought to produce an atmosphere conducive 
to the highest missionary education and service. 

When "missionary" is substituted for "patriotic" 
in all of the different meanings above an entirely new 
list of methods, some highly educational, appears. 

The Christian Flag. — It may be necessary to add a 
further word of explanation to Number 1: Christianity 

316 



MISSIONARY EDUCATION 

has no acknowledged emblem, but the Christian Flag is 
well known and its symbolism is almost perfect. It is the 
banner of the Prince of peace. It stands for no creed 
or denomination. It contains no symbol of warfare. 
The ground is white, representing peace and purity. In 
the upper corner is a blue field, the color of the unclouded 
sky, the symbol of fidelity and truth. Its chief device, 
the cross of red, is the emblem of Christian sacrifice. 
The Christian patriot pledges fidehty to the kingdom of 
God when he salutes this flag. 
With this flag the following salute may be used : 
"I pledge allegiance to my flag, and to the Saviour for 
whose kingdom it stands, one brotherhood, uniting all 
mankind in service and love."^ 

1 Written by Lynn Harold Hough, D. D,, and first used by the 
author of these chapters in Dr. Hough's Sunday school on Christmas 
Eve, 1908. 



317 



VI 

ADDITIONAL PROGRAM POSSIBILITIES 

Ten or fifteen minutes used occasionally before the main 
school, the departments or classes having rooms of their 
own, will give additional opportunities for missionary 
education. Such presentations are, of course, fragmentary 
and more or less superficial, and are most valuable for arous- 
ing interest in current missionary events or in giving 
publicity to some mission study and work already done 
in classes and departments. 

In a graded school these so-called programs should always 
be given by departments. In an ungraded school they 
should be planned to interest the younger members, and 
if well done will also appeal to the older pupils. Home- 
made programs are to be preferred. The public pres- 
entation then becomes the expression of work already 
done and is more than an exhibition or show. The pupils 
themselves should be made responsible for planning and 
carrying out these programs, a rule which is equally appli- 
cable to the suggestions in Chapter V. The following 
have been tried and proved successful where ad.equate 
preparation has been made: 

Book Reviews. — ^New missionary books from the Sun- 
day school or public library should be given to pupils 
to read, with the understanding that a public review is to 
be given in the presence of other pupils. The Missionary 
Committee will help the reviewers to prepare this work. 

318 



MISSIONARY EDUCATION 

The name of the book, the author and something about 
him, the theme and a short resume of the story and a 
personal criticism or recommendation should be included 
in a good public book review. 

Missionary Current Events. — ^These may involve a 
biographical sketch, a map talk, the explanation of pic- 
tures from magazines and papers, the use of a diagram 
or chart enlarged by the pupils and a debate between 
different classes. Current events, such as famine, fire, 
flood, plagues, etc., furnish opportunities for spontaneous 
giving and sometimes have serious missionary applica- 
tions. 

Mission-Study Class Reports. — A week-night mission- 
study class, a Sunday-school class organized for mission 
study, the study work of boys' and girls' clubs, mission 
bands and junior societies should all be reported to the 
pupils of a department or to the main school. This may 
be done by a resume of the course or by telling a number 
of stories illustrating the different topics considered. 

Reports of Missionary Service. — At least twice a year 
there should be a public report of the giving and per- 
sonal missionary service of the school. There should be 
no boasting and no appearance of display. The motive 
of service in the face of need should prevail throughout. 
The character of these reports must be determined locally 
in view of the kinds and amount of service rendered. 

Demonstrations of Missionary Life and Work. — If well 
done a simple use of dramatics will prove very effective. 

319 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

The missionary, in his contact with strange peoples, and 
the reaction of the heathen mind to the gospel message 
often yield really dramatic situations which may be most 
vividly presented to the school. They should always be 
preceded by careful study of all the parts and each act 
and sentence should be interpreted by those taking part. 
Such demonstrations may be easily prepared by members 
of study classes, especially by young people and inter- 
mediates. The classic stories of missions lend themselves 
to dramatic presentation. 

A Missionary Musical. — Christian hymns translated 
into foreign tongues or native melodies, either secular or 
Christian, sung in solo and chorus parts, make a very in- 
spiring program. As in the former suggestions, such a 
program is inspiring if well done; otherwise, it is farcical. 

More Elaborate Programs. — For a full hour's pro- 
gram or one for an evening many suggestions may be 
found in playing the games of foreign children, simple 
dramatics, costume parties, lantern lectures (try one using 
boys and girls for lecturers, assigning four or Rve slides 
to eight or ten different pupils), demonstrations of native 
manners and customs and the telling of stories. 



320 



VII 

HOME READING AND STUDY 

There are two general ways by which a missionary 
reading campaign may be started in a Sunday school. 
One is a big, popular, enthusiastic movement, spurred by a 
contest or the giving of prizes. The other is a "still hunt." 
The latter will probably produce the most normal results 
and there is less likelihood of a reaction against missionary 
literature. 

Only the most general suggestions can be given for a 
"still-hunt'* reading campaign. One or two individuals 
keeping steadily at it may get results. Many of the 
missionary books of the author are read each year by busi- 
ness men and women, professional people, high-school 
students and younger boys and girls. In the back of 
every lending book is written, "Will each one who reads 
this book write his name below?" For library books, 
such a sentence may appear on a slip of paper pasted in 
the back. 

It is probably best to select two or three persons who 
have the ability to know what other persons might be 
interested in the different books, and who have also the 
time and inclination to read all the books. The books 
may be found in public, Sunday-school or private libraries, 
or may be purchased by some special fund for that purpose. 
Suppose the intermediate superintendent decides that no 
boy or girl should be promoted from the Intermediate 
Department without having read at least three missionary 

321 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

biographies and two books of general missionary reading. 
By displaying all five books, and by having reviews given 
before all the classes by five bright pupils, the books will 
be introduced. From Sunday to Sunday they should 
be checked up and reported. Add to this a good deal 
of enthusiasm, and the books will be read. 



322 



VIII 



AN ADEQUATE GIVING POLICY 

This is one of the most difficult and most debated prob- 
lems in a local church and one not satisfactorily solved 
by very many churches. In view of this situation, the 
author feels free to set down here a possible giving policy 
for a local church and the relation of the Sunday school 
to it. 

A General Budget. — ^There should be one general 
budget for a parish or church, which should include all 
the benevolent gifts and local current expenses of all the 
organizations in the parish. The amount of money needed 
for the expenses of the Sunday school should be included 
in this budget. The amount reasonably expected from the 
Sunday school for its own expenses and for its benevo- 
lences should be taken into account in these general items. 
In this budget there would not appear benevolent items 
from church, Sunday school, Young People's Society, 
adult Bible class, mission band. Junior Society, etc., but 
one parish item representing the total of all these and 
possibly more. 

The Best Envelope. — ^The duplex envelope is the best 
collecting device for such a giving policy. It should be 
printed with the items of the budget for both current 

323 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

expenses and benevolent gifts. Envelopes should be pro- 
vided for every person in the parish, old and young. 

The Canvass. — ^The simultaneous "every-member" can- 
vass should then be instituted and an effort be made to 
reach the entire parish in a short time. Pledges on a 
weekly basis for the general items on the budget should 
be secured from all. The amounts of these pledges may 
be easily secured for each person and family by estimating 
the gifts to the different organizations and dividing the 
total. 

Weekly Pajrments. — ^The weekly payments may be 
made to any organization by the children in Sunday 
school or at the church service, but preferably by all at 
the church service. 

From Such a Policy These Results May Be Expected: 

1. Would there not develop a consciousness of the unity, 
dignity and worth of the local church consid^ed as a 
parish? The Sunday school would then have a real chance 
to teach such an idea and create such a consciousness. 

2. In many churches the Sunday school, on account of 
long-standing private financing, is now considered by many 
in the Church as an outside institution. May we not 
expect it gradually to come to be looked upon as the 
teaching, or educational, branch of the whole Church? 

3. Sunday-school pupils would develop in their maturing 
days a sense of responsibility for the Church and all it 
stands for. Loyalty to the Church is a bigger and better 
thing than loyalty to a Sunday school, however eflficient 
and independent financially it may be. 

324 



MISSIONARY EDUCATION 

4. The policy probably would not destroy, but rather 
help, the necessary support for the various Church boards 
and benevolent societies. The parish-abroad or station- 
plan idea of giving could be continued and very much 
strengthened by this whole-church budget scheme. 



325 



IX 

MISSIONARY SUGGESTIONS BY GRADES 

For Children Under Nine Years of Age. — ^This is su- 
premely the story age. Little groups of children in mis- 
sion bands, Sunday schools and homes may be entertained 
and instructed by the hour with simple stories. Child 
life is the key to the stories, and a big family of world 
children with one heavenly Father is the important theme. 
Care must be exercised not to provide stories with adult 
content told in a childish way. The stories should be 
illustrated by pictures and such objects as will describe 
child life and make it attractive. 

In planning the activities for children under nine we 
must remember that the child's world is limited to the 
home, the neighborhood, the school and the church. 
The people with whom the child comes into contact are 
parents, neighborhood friends, relatives, playmates, teach- 
ers, the servants of the public good, such as policemen, 
letter carriers, firemen, health officers and that large 
circle of shopkeepers who provide our food and clothing. 
This is the child's world. Beyond this he knows little 
or cares little. Even if he learns of other people who live 
in other cities or other parts of the country, or other coun- 
tries, they become real to him only as he takes them into 
his world. The child's interest in his world is in activity, 
and he is controlled almost entirely by his instinctive 
feelings. 

326 



MISSIONARY EDUCATION 

The child under nine can be taught to show gratitude 
for benefits received, to help mother and others in the 
various home duties; to show kindness to animals by feed- 
ing the birds, the households pets and the domestic ani- 
mals of the field; to provide flowers for the sick in the home 
and the community; to give flowers to others who may not 
be sick, in order to add to their joy and appreciation of life, 
and to help the poor by providing clothing, food, pictures 
and flowers. The older children may care for the younger 
ones in the home, the school and the Sunday school. 

Especially in the latter part of the period the teacher 
may gradually extend the child's interest so as to include 
God's great family of children throughout the world. 
Either through personal observation of foreign children 
in the community, or through stories, pictures, objects, 
nursery rhymes, folklore, games, etc., the other children 
of the world may be brought into his life. 

For Boys and Girls Nine to Twelve Years of Age. — ^The 
interest in stories continues, but the stories are of a dif- 
ferent character. Adult experiences and heroic acts of 
the physical sort interest boys and girls of this age, and 
the tales must be true and must concern big and wonderful 
deeds in order to excite the hero-worshiping junior. It 
is the memory period, when the great names, places, 
events, etc., may be eagerly learned as foundation knowl- 
edge for future study and activity. 

The organization of the junior classes or department into 
a week-day mission band, study classes and societies is 
now possible and should be emphasized. The following 
missionary activities have been reported as being suc- 
cessful: impersonations in exercises and plays, the salute 

327 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

of the Christian flag, ilhistration of a missionary hymn in 
a notebook, map-tracing, the collection of foreign postage 
stamps, post cards and coins. 

Two or three things come into the life of junior boys 
and girls which increase the range of missionary activity 
and service. The study of geography and history based 
on the new senses of space and time gives a real interest 
to the hitherto undiscovered worlds of the past and of 
the far away. Boys and girls also have a new interest in 
constructing and collecting material things which makes 
it possible to offer them a much wider range of activity. 
In addition, therefore, to the suggestions for children under 
nine, most of which are applicable to these boys and girls, 
the juniors may collect picture cards and pictures; make 
scrapbooks and picture books for hospitals, orphanages 
and foreign mission stations; collect magazines and papers 
for homes for the aged and poor, for soldiers and sailors 
and for Salvation Army quarters; and construct articles 
for gifts, especially at Christmas and Easter time. 

The junior age is the time to emphasize the systematic 
giving of money, which will have value just in so far as the 
child realizes that the money is his own. On account of 
the new interest in the things that he possesses times of 
self-denial are very apropos. Sympathy arising out of 
great disasters, such as storm and famine, frequently 
offers such opportunities. 

For Boys and Girls Thirteen to Sixteen Years of Age. — 
In adolescence, new life, physical, mental and spiritual, 
comes to the individual. Self-consciousness becomes 
clear and definite, self-feeling is marked and personality 
takes shape. Just as it is the crucial period for the adop- 

328 



MISSIONARY EDUCATION 

tion of personal religion, so is it the time for the stamping 
of character with the missionary spirit and ideals. Mis- 
sionary education is now different from that of former 
years. Direct training of the missionary motive, the will 
to do and to believe and the desire for personal service, 
must be considered. 

The intermediate is the gang age. Clubs and societies 
of all sorts are eagerly formed by the boys and girls. The 
study class and mission band or circle at this period attain 
their highest efficiency among children. They desire 
an active part in the organization and conduct of their 
meetings. 

For material, it will be found that the short story or 
incident of the previous period will now give place to an 
extended and detailed account. Biography yields the 
best material for character study. Boys and girls of the 
early adolescent period nearly always have some personal 
ideal among their adult friends, teachers or parents. 
This tendency to hero worship is the missionary teacher's 
opportunity. A textbook and helps for the teacher may 
be used. Each pupil should be provided with a book and 
regular meetings should be scheduled. For missionary 
activities the following have been reported as successful 
and are recommended: organized clubs mentioned above, 
debates, lantern talks by the boys and girls themselves, 
map-drawing, essays on various topics, illustrated note- 
books, missionary stories and personal contact with mis- 
sionaries. 

In planning the activities for early adolescent boys and 
girls there is one new principle which should be realized 
by all teachers and parents. Activity and personal serv- 
ice will have value just in so far as they are a real ex- 

329 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

pression of the child's own inner desire and purpose. The 
teacher may suggest, make the appeal or modify the pu- 
pils' environment, but the pupils themselves should make 
the decision. Boys and girls may actually observe cases 
of need, discuss what may be done and decide on the man- 
ner of performing the service. They should be permitted 
to decide the distribution of their offerings of money for 
Christian work. As far as possible they should have 
some responsibility in the local church, such as the care 
of the younger children, volunteer choir service or acting 
as assistants to teachers and officers. They may plan for 
a missionary box or barrel, providing the articles and at- 
tending to the shipment. In their organizations they may 
assume places of responsibility and help to provide ac- 
tivities for those who are younger than themselves. The 
acts of service outlined for the Boy Scouts and Camp Fire 
Girls could be appropriately attached to the religious 
instruction in the home and the Sunday school. 

For Young People. — Of all the periods of development 
mentioned, this age offers the most unique opportunity 
to the missionary teacher. It is the time of life just before 
the assumption of the tasks of manhood and womanhood, 
when life work is usually decided. It is the most unselfish 
period of life, a fact well noted in the beginnings of love- 
making between the sexes. The romantic in literature has 
a keen interest. New social duties exclude other things, 
and there seems to be a falling away of interest in religious 
matters. Study circles are almost impossible and organ- 
izations suffer. Much personal work must be done to 
start study classes. If the curriculum or course offered 
is worth while from the young people's standpoint, and if 

330 



MISSIONARY EDUCATION 

the leader is acceptable, there will be sufficient reward 
for holding a class. 

For study classes such topics as life-work questions, 
the present-day problems of the kingdom, sketches of the 
more romantic lives of missionaries and social problems 
of the community are suggested, and have been found 
most satisfactory. 

The missionary activities may take the form of mission- 
ary socials, musicals, dramatizations, tableaux, debates, 
reading circles, original essays, personal investigations and 
the study class. 

The social and altruistic feelings are now naturally 
active. The permanency of these fundamental impulses 
will depend upon their use in this period. The oppor- 
tunities for service will be limited only by the time and the 
ability of the young people to carry them out. There 
are one or two points of difference, however, between the 
kind of things which young men and women should be 
given to do and those provided for boys and girls. Young 
people may be asked to assume definite responsibility for 
work. The activities heretofore suggested should be con- 
tinued, with the change of emphasis on minuteness of 
organization and the personal responsibility of the pupils. 
Young people may teach Sunday-school classes, lead 
mission-study classes, assist in settlements, boys' and 
girls' groups and playground work. They may also be 
organized to meet special needs in the charitable, philan- 
thropic and benevolent work of the community and 
church. They will rally particularly to the suggestion of 
the support of some special object in the mission field, 
such as a teacher in a school, or the endowment of a room 
in a hospital, or the care of some children in an orphanage. 

331 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

We should also seek to interest the young people in 
the problems and principles which underlie the needs of 
the world. Their tendency to philosophize about every- 
thing shows that their minds are dwelling on bigger mat- 
ters than the mere alleviation of a single case of poverty 
or sickness. In the same manner they may be interested 
in the spiritual needs of the people of the world, and new 
motives may be aroused for adequately supporting the 
missionary enterprise. 

For the Adult Classes. — ^Though life is not yet mature, 
the period above twenty-one years of age is generally 
spoken of as adult. The age of twenty-five or twenty-six 
usually sees the close of adolescence, the last period being 
characterized by the final stages in the maturing of the 
body and mind. The differences between the character- 
istics of the few years before twenty-five and the years 
after are of degree rather than kind. The very fact 
that by this time nature has completed the structure of 
the human body indicates that for the first time in life 
it is ready to bear the burden of the actual work of life. 
Practically all of the functions are mature. 

In the realm of the intellect reason is dominant. At 
first the child learns largely by imitation and emulation. 
Then in early adolescence he creates for himself a personal 
ideal. Later he projects his own ideal or an idealized 
self so characteristic of young people of sixteen to twenty. 
Still later, his guides to conduct are the principles which 
he forms when ideals are realized in activity. The inter- 
est in family hfe, politics, relation of capital and labor, 
community welfare, the Church and her work seems to 
indicate that social feeling has reached a higher stage. 

332 



MISSIONARY EDUCATION 

Add to the above that characteristic element of Ameri- 
can Hfe, the tendency to organization, and it will at once 
be seen that if a man's early training is good his natural 
interests, characteristics and God-given place in the world 
as a member of society all point to the part which he is 
to take in the actual constructive work laid down in the 
program of the Christian Church. 

Our church life ought to be so planned as to utilize for 
the purpose of useful work in building up the kingdom of 
God every one of its adult members. Missions are the 
Christian Church at work in the world. Missions may for 
convenience be divided into local, state, home and foreign, 
which may be necessary geographical distinctions. The 
missionary enterprise furnishes, however, the field in which 
each mature Christian should find his particular place 
and work. 



333 



HELPS FOR THE MISSIONARY COMMITTEE 

For all of the methods suggested in these chapters there 
has been provided abundant help. There are books of 
methods, annotated lists of reading and study books, 
pictures with stories, charts, maps, periodicals, prayer 
circles, lantern lectures for purchase or rent and, above 
all, the most wonderful opportunities for service and for 
gifts of money. Let the Missionary Committee acquaint 
itself with the literature available. Letters of inquiry 
to the Denominational Sunday-school and Publishing 
Agency and the Denominational Home or Foreign Mission 
Board will bring the needed information. 



334 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WOKK 



XI 



BRINGING THE PUPIL TO A DECISION 
FOR CHRIST 



Rev. GEORGE GORDON MAHY 



335 



BRINGING THE PUPIL TO A DECISION 
FOR CHRIST 



THE NEED 



Sunday-School Organization and Development. — Every 
Christian institution and movement which we know 
anything about has had its origin in a great missionary 
and evangeUstie impulse, born of the Holy Spirit in the 
hearts of men. Such an impulse led to the founding of 
the Sunday school. It was created as an agency for bring- 
ing lost souls to Christ; and its leaders and teachers 
gathered into it, as their pupils, the untaught and neglected 
children of the streets. 

The passing years have brought about an amazing 
development of Sunday-school organization, of Sunday- 
school attendance and of Sunday-school literature and 
methods of work. World, national and state conventions 
are attended by thousands of religious leaders. The 
results of modern scientific research in Biblical inter- 
pretation, in child nature and in pedagogy have been 
placed at the disposal of Sunday-school workers. 

A Double Loss. — In spite of these great gains, however, 

evidences of loss are apparent, for, while the Sunday school 

as grown, it has done so by building itself around the 

'Idren of the Church, and has not maintained sufficient 

337 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

missionary zeal to extend its work among the very children 
whom it was designed to reach. As a result, our modern 
Sunday-school pupils (except in the case of a compara- 
tively small number of mission schools) are no longer 
drawn from the untaught and neglected, but from the 
sheltered and protected children of comfortable homes. 
They are well dressed, well nourished and happy hearted. 
Naturally, they do not arouse in their teachers the same 
instinct of rescue, nor does their case appear to be so ur- 
gent as that of the pupils of the so-called * 'ragged schools'* 
of the early days or the mission schools of to-day. It 
follows with equal naturalness that there has been a 
decline of the evangelistic spirit in Sunday-school work 
which too often has led to a kind of quiet and comfortable, 
not to say careless, teaching of the Bible lesson, in which 
there is no yearning for lost souls and no tender personal 
appeal to the pupils to seek Christ's forgiveness for sin, 
to accept him as Saviour and to confess him before the 
world. This sort of teaching magnifies the work of im- 
parting religious truth to the mind, and fails to recognize 
the presence of the Holy Spirit and the necessity for co- 
operating with him in applying the teaching of the lesson 
to the heart and the conscience of the pupil. 

This double loss — of missionary spirit and of a true 
evangelistic zeal — is responsible for two things which are 
revealed in the annual reports of our present-day Sunday- 
school work. The first thing is that in many of our 
great denominations Sunday-school attendance appar- 
ently reached the high-water mark some years since, and 
is now declining. Nothing short of a revival of the mis- 
sionary spirit which led Robert Raikes and D. L. Moody, 
with a host of others, to seek out the lost and forlorn 

338 



A DECISION FOR CHRIST 

children of the crowded alleys, will serve to check the 
present alarming decline in attendance. The second 
thing is that, as an evangelistic agency, the Sunday school 
is not measuring up to its responsibility, for the reports 
show that out of every five Sunday-school pupils, only 
two are led to Christ and into the membership of the 
Christian Church, while three pass beyond the circle of 
church life, out into the world of indifference and sin. The 
beauty of any piece of work lies in the perfection of its 
finish. There is a suggestion of waste and a certain 
pathos about an unfinished painting, an unfinished book, 
an unfinished house, for behind these lies the story of 
diverted or of failing energies. Especially is this true 
of an unfinished work in the Sunday school, for surely 
the saddest thing on earth is an unperfected character, a 
broken life, a lost soul. It is this which gives such a sad 
significance to the great procession of boys and girls, on 
the verge of young manhood and young womanhood, 
who are annually reported as having turned their backs 
upon the teaching of the Sunday school, the ordinances 
of the Church, and the Saviour who died for the redemp- 
tion of their souls. The only thing which will turn back 
to Christ this procession of the children of the Church is 
the revival of a genuine spirit of evangelism in the Sun- 
day school. 

Pupils Must Be Brought Face to Face with Christ. 
— If a true spirit of evangelism exists in the Sunday 
school the methods by which the pupils are brought 
to a decision for Christ will take care of themselves. 
For this reason, while certain methods are indicated in 
these chapters, they are not insisted upon. The chief 

339 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

thing is to bring every pupil face to face with the 
hving Christ, through his direct and personal invitations, 
promises, warnings and commands with respect to dis- 
cipleship and service. There are some Sunday schools 
in which such work is never done, because the teachers 
and officers have somehow allowed a certain formality 
and an atmosphere of chilliness to creep into their work. 
Deep down in their hearts they long to see their pupils 
brought to Christ, but they do not know how to change 
existing conditions nor how to create a new atmosphere 
in which such a result can be accomplished. 

A Fire Kindled and Communicated. — It is often true 
that some one in the Sunday school becomes deeply con- 
cerned about its low spiritua tone, and anxious to 
awaken in the hearts of the teachers and pupils a new 
spirit of earnestness. A prayer which was printed and 
scattered broadcast, both in this country and in Europe, 
some years ago, read: "0 Lord send a revival, and let it 
begin in me!" God often accomplishes his purpose by 
kindling a fire in a solitary heart. It may be that of the 
pastor or of the superintendent or of a teacher. Let 
anyone so aroused call the teachers and officers together 
for conference and prayer. Let him communicate to 
them his own deep feeling of anxiety over the spiritual 
condition of the school, and urge them to discover exactly 
how many of the pupils are members of the Church, and 
who among them seem to be making progress in the Chris- 
tian life; what are the things which are hindering the 
growth of others; and also how many of the pupils have as 
yet made no public profession of faith in Jesus Christ. 
Then let him lead the teachers to ask: "What is our own 

340 



A DECISION FOR CHRIST 

spiritual state and what is our life influence upon our 
pupils?'^ "How often and how earnestly have we engaged 
in intercessory prayer for the conversion of our pupils?" 
"How deep is our own personal interest in our study of 
the Bible and the preparation of the lessons?" "Are we 
conscious that our own souls are being fed by the Spirit 
of God as he opens to us the Scriptures?" "Do we 
come to the classroom with our hearts all aglow with fresh 
revelations of the beauty and the glory of God, and the 
wonder of his plan of salvation?" Such a conference as 
this would create in many a school a new spiritual atmos- 
phere, and transform it from a barren to a fruitful field. 

In One School. — ^When the writer visited a certain 
church and asked questions concerning the condition of 
the Sunday school, he was informed that the atmosphere 
of the school was unfavorable to evangelistic work, inas- 
much as a number of the teachers were opposed to any 
appeals being made to the pupils to confess Christ as their 
Saviour. He asked permission to have a conference with 
the teachers and officers of that school directly after 
the Sunday morning service. The time for the con- 
ference was necessarily very short. Calling upon the 
nearest teacher he asked: "How many pupils have you 
in your class, and how old are they?" He was told that 
there were twelve pupils and that their ages ranged from 
fourteen to sixteen years. The next question was : "How 
many of these pupils have publicly professed Christ?" 
The answer was: "Only two of them." Every teacher 
present was called upon to give the same information, 
and when all had reported it was found that over sixty 
pupils in that school, above the age of fourteen, had not 

341 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

made public profession of their faith in Christ, and that 
many of them had never been asked to make such a pro- 
fession. 

At the beginning of the conference the teachers seemed 
to be disturbed at the personal nature of the questions 
which were asked, and at the insistent placing of re- 
sponsibility upon them for the souls of their pupils. They 
were particularly disturbed when they were asked to read, 
and apply to themselves, verses seven and eight of the 
thirty-third chapter of Ezekiel: "So thou, son of man, I 
have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; there- 
fore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning 
from me. When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, 
thou shalt surely die, and thou dost not speak to warn 
the wicked from his way; that wicked man shall die in 
his iniquity, but his blood will I require at thy hand." 
But as the conference progressed there were evidences 
of marked concern on the faces of many of the teachers, 
and as they separated to go to their classrooms they did 
so with a new seriousness of purpose. The lesson of that 
day lent itself to the presentation of the gospel appeal, 
and the teachers applied the lesson so earnestly and effec- 
tively that at the close of the school, when they were 
gathered together for a report of the hour's work, they were 
filled with joy because forty or more of their pupils had 
yielded themselves to Jesus Christ, and made a clear con- 
fession of their faith in him in the presence of their class- 
mates. 

Here was a school in which there appeared to be an 
unspiritual atmosphere, and which for a number of years 
had failed to perfect its work by bringing its pupils to 
a decision for Christ. The teachers and officers seemed 

342 



A DECISION FOR CHRIST 

to be separated from each other by a sort of spiritual re- 
serve. It was only necessary to crack the ice of this 
reserve by awakening them to a sense of their responsi- 
bility and bringing them to a point where they were 
ready to make a definite effort to win their pupils for Jesus 
Christ. This conference changed the whole atmosphere 
of the school. It created a new bond of fellowship be- 
tween the teachers and officers, and brought into the ses- 
sions of the Sunday school a spirit of earnestness, rever- 
ence, watchfulness, sympathy and love which has met 
with instant response on the part of the pupils. 



343 



II 

PLACING THE RESPONSIBILITY 

If we should sum up the efforts made by the Sunday- 
schools to bring their pupils to a decision for Christ, 
they would fall into three groups: (1) Those which place 
the responsibility upon the teacher; (2) those which place 
the responsibility upon the pastor; (3) those which place 
the responsibility upon the superintendent. 

Placing the Responsibility Upon the Teacher. — ^The 
schools which place the responsibility upon the teacher 
emphasize the idea of individual work, and consider that 
their responsibility is discharged when the teacher, whose 
work perhaps is supplemented by the pastor, has per- 
sonally invited them to enter the Christian life. If all 
our Sunday-school teachers had the true evangelistic 
spirit, and were prepared for the work of soul-winning, 
there would be no necessity for further anxiety on the 
part of the Church concerning the spiritual welfare of her 
children, and no need for further evangelistic effort on 
the part of the school. But it is necessary that we should 
consider just what preparation of mind and heart is needed 
in order that the teacher may really have a "true evan- 
gelistic spirit and be prepared for the work of soul-win- 
ning." 

(1) The teacher must be familiar with, and have a firm 
faith in, the great doctrinal statements of the Bible con- 
cerning sin and God's plan of salvation from sin. (2) 

344 



A DECISION FOR CHRIST 

This knowledge and belief will convince the teacher that 
every pupil who has not repented of sin, accepted Christ 
as Saviour and confessed him as such before the world, is, 
according to the gospel, "dead through your trespasses 
and sins," no matter how attractive or winsome a per- 
sonality that pupil may have. The apostle Paul wrote, 
"The love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus 
judge, that one died for all, therefore all died." This 
conviction of the spiritual need of the pupil, combined 
with the consciousness of possessing the life message, 
"One died for all," will overcome all timidity on the part 
of the teacher in dealing with the vital question of a 
soul's relation to Christ, and will unfailingly lead him to 
the underlying gospel message which every Sunday-school 
lesson contains. (3) It will also develop in the teacher 
great patience, so that if his first efforts are unsuccessful 
there will be no discouragement upon his part, but rather 
a deepened determination so to live and labor and pray for 
his pupils that, in the end, they must by the very compul- 
sion of love be compelled to yield themselves to Christ. 

There is a beautiful story told by Henry Drummond 
of two students in the University of Edinburgh. One 
of them was an earnest Christian. The other was an 
unbeliever. Through the years of their fellowship the 
Christian student had prayed with great earnestness for 
the conversion of his comrade, and pleaded with him to 
yield his heart to Jesus Christ. The time came for the 
graduation of the Christian student, and still his unbe- 
lieving roommate had not surrendered to Jesus Christ. 
A splendid professional opening offered itself to the Chris- 
tian student, and he was urged to take advantage of it 
immediately after his graduation, but at the opening of 

345 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

the next school year, to the surprise of the unbeHeving 
student, his old roommate was back again, preparing to 
take a post-graduate course at the university. It was 
not until some weeks later that he learned of the rejection 
of the splendid professional opening by his Christian 
roommate, who had sacrificed his opportunity in order 
that he might, if necessary, give another year to the work 
of winning his unsaved comrade to Jesus Christ. It is 
scarcely necessary to say that this unselfish devotion 
broke the stubborn will of the unbeliever and brought 
him in penitence and love to Jesus Christ. 

When the pupils of our Sunday schools discover similar 
evidences of loving sacrifice and Christlike solicitude in the 
lives of their teachers a long step wiU have been taken 
toward the solution of the problem which now presses 
upon the Church: How shall we bring a greater number 
of our children to a decision for Christ and hold them for 
his service? 

Placing the Responsibility Upon the Pastor. — ^The 
school which regards the pastor as the person best fitted 
to bring the pupils to a decision for Christ attaches great 
importance to the pastor's instruction class, and calls 
upon the teachers to select and send into the pastor's 
class those pupils who have not made a public profession 
of their faith, in order that he may instruct them concern- 
ing the Christian life and its obligations, and prepare 
them intelligently to undertake the responsibilities of 
church membership. 

A prominent minister tells of a fellow minister who 
often passes from class to class during the session of the 
school and inquires of the teachers how many of their 

346 



A DECISION FOR CHRIST 

pupils have publicly professed Christ. His questions 
help to fix in the minds of the teachers the fact that they 
have one or three or more (as the case may be) who are 
potentially, but not actually, members of the visible body 
of Christ. This same pastor, four times a year, announces 
that he will teach an mquirer's class in the study in the 
church during the Sunday-school hour, and the teachers 
are requested to send to him at that time any of their 
pupils who are wilhng to join such a class. He reports 
that annually there are large accessions to his church 
from the Sunday school through this class. 

It is almost unbelievable, and yet it is true, that there 
are still many ministers who do not regard the Sunday 
school as a field for personal effort on their part. They are 
glad to have the Sunday school, but are content to leave 
its work solely in the hands of the lay workers of the church. 
It is not too strong a statement to say that no pastor can 
hope for permanent success in any spiritual sense who 
neglects the work of the Sunday school. And this is 
true of the pastors of great metropolitan churches as well 
as of the pastors of smaller churches. 

One Pastor's Method. — The pastor of one of the largest 
churches in the United States said recently: *'I have 
three congregations every Sunday — one in the morning, 
one in the afternoon and one in the evening. If I 
were compelled to choose any one of these audiences I 
would not hesitate for a moment to take the afternoon 
audience, though I know that this audience is composed 
almost wholly of young people and children, and that I 
should be limited to fifteen minutes in what I have to say 
to them; for it is out of this audience that I expect to 

347 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

secure the materials for building a church which shall 
serve the living God long after I am gone." This pastor 
declares that he has not missed a session of the Sunday 
school for many years, except on account of necessary ab- 
sence from the city, and that he regards the few minutes 
which are given to him every Sunday afternoon, for a 
direct heart talk with the pupils, as one of the brightest 
periods of the week, and that he makes just as careful 
preparation for his message to the Sunday school as for 
his Sunday morning or evening sermon. 

It is not diflScult for the teachers of this school to 
persuade their pupils to enter the pastor's instruction 
class, for the pupils know him and love him. Indeed, 
it is his proud boast that he can instantly call by 
name every one of the boys and girls in that school 
who is above the primary grade. Year after year 
a splendid harvest of boys and girls is brought to 
Jesus Christ and gathered into the membership of the 
church. There are many churches in the part of the city 
where this church is located which are losing their 
strength, but it continues to grow in strength and in- 
fluence, and is a very fountain of blessing not only to 
the particular section in which it is located, but also to 
the whole city. Fortunate is the school whose- teachers 
and officers have the help of such a pastor in their effort 
to bring their pupils to a decision for Christ. 

Placing the Responsibility Upon the Superintendent. 
— ^There are still other Sunday schools which follow 
the third method, and make the superintendent the real 
leader in all the evangelistic work of the school. The 
pastor of a church which is thoroughly evangelistic in 

348 



A DECISION FOR CHRIST 

its method, and which reports the largest accessions on 
confession of faith for the past five years of any church 
in the denomination, says: "Our superintendent is a 
thoroughly trained Bible teacher and a splendid execu- 
tive. Practically all the evangelistic spirit in our Sunday 
school is imparted to the teachers through him. For 
several years he has brought the teachers together on 
Wednesday evenings, before the prayer meeting, for a 
teacher^s tea, and I beheve it to be true that there is no 
pupil in our school over twelve years of age, who is 
known to be unsaved, who is not a special object of anx- 
ious care to every teacher in the school. He has so trained 
the teachers and inspired them with his spirit that under 
his leadership the invitation to come to Christ is con- 
tinually pressed upon the unsaved pupils." 



349 



Ill 

THE DECISION DAY SERVICE 

The most effective evangelistic Sunday schools are 
those which have wisely combined the three methods 
considered in the previous chapter. By this means 
they have secured the complete cooperation of pastor, 
superintendent and teachers in a steady and effective 
evangelistic work throughout the year, but, in addition 
to this, they set apart a day known as ''Decision Day" 
for a special evangelistic work, and by this means they 
gather up the results of the work of the year. This 
method of Sunday-school evangelism recognizes clearly 
that the act of bringing a soul to decision for Christ is 
not an isolated act. The Decision Day Service is looked 
forward to with profound interest, and is really regarded 
as the culmination of many days of prayer and careful 
preparation. 

Regular Work of the School a Preparation. — Prepara- 
tion for a Decision Day Service, therefore, includes: (1) 
All the regular work of the school; (2) the special meas- 
ures which are taken, just prior to the service, to secure its 
success. 

The value of the persistent and regular teaching 
work of the school, as a preparation for the special 
evangelistic appeal, is illustrated in an article written 
some years ago by William T. Stead in reviewing the char- 
acteristics of the Welsh revival. He pictured a hulk 

350 



A DECISION FOR CHRIST 

submerged in the harbor. For days a powerful pump 
has been at work, forcing air into it. Slowly the hulk 
rises, until at last it reaches the surface, but it is still 
overturned and will soon settle again to the bottom of 
the harbor if it does not continue to have the artificial 
support of the pressure pump. It is in a state of equi- 
librium, and at this instant all that is needed is a single 
touch to enable it to right itself and float again upon 
the surface of the water. Thus the regular teaching of 
the Sunday-school lesson, the constant application of the 
invitations and warnings of the gospel message to the 
heart and conscience of the pupils, effectively prepare 
the way for the Decision Day. On that day the touch 
is given to prepared souls, and they are led out of the 
lingering shadows of uncertainty and over the crumbling 
wall of separation from Christ into the full light of a 
happy Christian experience. 

In this translation and transformation there is the 
picture of 

"A pleasant meadow, and a Shepherd's call 
Beyond the confines of a crumbling wall. 
I and a flock of lambs togecher stay 
Upon this side, and wait the coming day ; 
And when that kindly voice is heard afar 
The Iambs in gladness leap the wall's slight bar 
And run to meet the Shepherd." 

Special Preparation. — But the results of the Decision 
Day Service will be more certain and satisfactory if, in 
addition to the ordinary work of the school, special prepa- 
ration shall also be made. This special preparation 
should include at least these features: 

(1) The day should be selected and announced in ad- 
351 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

vance, and attention should frequently be called to its im- 
portance from the pulpit and the Sunday-school platform. 
(2) Parents should be interviewed by personal visitation 
in order that their wishes may be ascertained, and, some- 
times, that their ignorant and unworthy prejudices may 
be removed. Many a child has sat through a Decision 
Service eager with longing, anxious to give Jesus his heart, 
but forbidden by blind and ignorant parents to make any 
public confession of faith in him. There are a good many 
people to-day who are as much out of sympathy with 
Christ as were his disciples of old when they rebuked 
those who would bring the children to him. These people 
should be asked to give careful attention to the record 
of the Gospel: "But when Jesus saw it, he was moved 
with indignation, and said unto them, Suffer the little 
children to come unto me; forbid them not: for to such 
belongeth the kingdom of God." (3) The Christian pu- 
pils should be urged to greater watchfulness in their life 
and conversation, that they may not prove a stumbling- 
block to others, and they should be encouraged to meet 
in groups to consider the question of their responsibility, 
and to pray both for a renewal of their own spiritual life 
and for the conversion of their associates. (4) The pastor, 
teachers and officers should arrange for a personal inter- 
view with the unconverted pupils, and at this interview 
clearly present the reasons why each one, when he has 
come to years of discretion, should make a full and 
complete surrender to Christ and a public profession of 
faith in him. 

Conducting the Decision Service. — In the conduct of 
the Decision Service itself it will usually be wise to set 

352 



A DECISION FOR CHRIST 

aside the regular lesson for the day, and to place in the 
hands of the teachers and every pupil in the school this or 
some other covenant card, on which, in addition to the 
covenant, there are printed a few clear gospel invitations 
and promises: 



MY COVENANT WITH GOD 



GOD'S COMMAND: Repent ye, and believe in the gospel.— Mark 

1:15. 
THE GOSPEL: Christ died for our sins and rose again. — 1 Cor. 

15 : 1-4. 
GOD'S PROMISE: As many as received him, to them gave he the 

right to become children of God. — John 1 : 12. 



Believing the gospel, I turn from every known sin to Christ 
and look to him for forgiveness and life. I do now receive 
and confess Christ as my Saviom", John 1 : 12; Matt. 10: 32; 
Rom. 10:9, 10; and, trusting that he will keep me, I com- 
mit the direction of my whole life to him, Heb. 7: 25; Jude 24. 

Signed 

Date Place- 

Take this part of the card home with you. Pray over it, study and be- 
lieve the Scriptures it contains. 

MY COVENANT WITH GOD 

I have this day accepted and confessed Christ as my 
Saviour, and committed the direction of my whole life to 
him. As he gives me strength I will strive from day to day 
to be a true and faithful Christian. 

Signed 

Date-- - Place 

Give this part of the card to the superintendent, pastor or your Sunday- 
school teacher. 

353 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

This card is given to the pupils in order that they may 
have before them something definite to consider and act 
upon. 

The Call to the Christian Pupils. — ^Those who have 
already professed their faith in Christ should be asked to 
think carefully of their failures and sins since first they con- 
fessed Christ, and urged to take a forward step by prayer- 
fully renewing their allegiance to him in a solemn promise 
that from this decision hour they will earnestly strive for 
victory over those things in their lives which have here- 
tofore injured them and hindered their Christian growth. 
They should be asked to use the reverse side of the cove- 
nant card (which has been distributed through the school), 
and on that reverse side, under the simple heading, "My 
Forward Step," put in their own words a promise to Jesus 
Christ of what they intend to be and to do thereafter to 
please and glorify him. 

Explaining Repentance. — ^When the teachers have in 
this way pointed out to the Christian pupils the necessity 
for a more earnest and faithful discipleship, and the joy 
of living close to Christ, they should take the covenant card 
and have the whole class, with open Bibles, carefully read 
the gospel invitations and promises printed upon it. 
The conversation over the passages indicated on the card 
will very likely take some such form as this: After the 
pupils have read Mark 1:15, "The time is fulfilled, and the 
kingdom of God is at hand : repent ye, and believe in the 
gospel," the teacher should ask, "Would you call the last 
part of this verse a command?" The answer will be, "Yes." 
"Who gave the command?" The answer will be, "Jesus 

354 



A DECISION FOR CHRIST 

gave it." "Did he have a right to give such a com- 
mandment?" "Yes." "Why has he the right to give 
such a commandment?" "Because he is the Son of God 
and all power is given unto him both in heaven and on 
earth." The teacher should call attention to the fact that 
this is the very first command which Jesus ever gave, 
and that with this commandment he began all his preach- 
ing and teaching, and that, therefore, he must have con- 
sidered it one of the most important things he would ever 
have to say. Now the teacher should call attention to the 
commandment itself, "Repent ye, and believe in the 
gospel," and should not fail to explain that repentance 
means two things: (1) That we should be sorry for our 
sins; (2) that we should turn away from our sins. 

A familiar Old Testament passage may be quoted as an 
illustration of repentance and a promise of the blessing 
which comes to the repentant heart: "He that covereth 
his transgressions shall not prosper; but whoso confesseth 
and forsaketh them shall obtain mercy." Prov. 28 : 13. 

What Is the Gospel? — It will be noted that the second 
part of the commandment on the card is, "believe in the 
gospel." The question will naturally arise in the minds 
of the pupils. What is the gospel? The teacher should 
be able to answer by having the class turn to 1 Cor. 15: 
1-4, where Paul says, "The gospel which I preached unto 
you, . . . that Christ died for our sins according to the 
scriptures; and that he was buried; and that he hath been 
raised on the third day." (R. V.) The teacher should ex- 
plain that what we are to believe is this: that Christ died 
for our sins and therefore is able to forgive our sins, and 
to put them away just as soon as we confess them and turn 

355 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

away from them. It should also be shown that Christ has 
not only died for our sins, but that he has risen from the 
dead and therefore is living to-day, and waiting to see 
whether we are going to receive and acknowledge him as 
our Lord and Saviour. 

At this point the teacher should have the class read 
John 1:11, 12, ''He came unto his own, and they that were 
his own received him not. But as many as received him, 
to them gave he the right to become children of God, 
even to them that beHeve on his name." At once the class 
will see that there are two classes of people referred to: 
those who do not receive Christ and those who do receive 
him. 

Questions should be asked about the meaning of "receiv- 
ing Christ," and the teacher should aid in formulating 
answers to the questions. These answers should make it 
clear that "receiving Christ" means to submit the will 
to him for his guidance and control; to give him our love 
and gratitude for the great love which led him to die for 
our sins; to place our time and all our strength at his 
disposal, and to turn to him in prayer for counsel and help 
in every time of need, and in every possible way to seek 
to please him. It should be made clear that the way to 
please him is to do at once everything that he tells us 
to do. 

Christ's Requirements of Us. — At this point the class 
should be asked to turn to Matt. 10: 32, and, read about 
one of the very first things which Jesus asks the Christian 
to do for him: "Every one therefore who shall confess me 
before men, him will I also confess before my Father who 
is in heaven." For further light on what is meant by "con- 

356 



A DECISION FOR CHRIST 

fessing him" the class should read also Rom. 10: 9, 10, "Be- 
cause if thou shalt confess with thy mouth Jesus as Lord, 
and shalt believe in thy heart that God raised him from 
the dead, thou shalt be saved: for with the heart man be- 
lieveth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession 
is made unto salvation." Then let the class turn again 
to John 1 : 12 and read the specific promise, ''to them gave 
he the right to become children of God." Up to this 
point the class has been considering what God has asked 
them to do in obedience to the gospel. 

Now they should be asked to consider what God has 
definitely promised to do for them when they obey the 
commandment and sincerely repent and believe the gos- 
pel. God pledges himself that he will give everyone who 
receives Jesus the right to become a child of God. It 
should be explained that this means power to overcome 
sinful habits which up to the present moment have been 
too strong for us, and power to grow every day stronger 
and stronger in our fight against sin. These promises 
should be reenforced by having the class read Heb. 7: 25, 
"Wherefore also he is able to save to the uttermost them 
that draw near unto God through him, seeing he ever 
liveth to make intercession for them." The class will 
see from this promise that Jesus is "able to save" because 
he is now living, and that he is engaged at the present mo- 
ment in the work of making intercession for everyone who 
comes near to God through him, and, accordingly, the thing 
for everyone to do who desires to have the power to become 
the child of God is at once to draw near to God. 

Taking the Covenant. — Now the class should be asked 
to consider very carefully the covenant itself: 

357 



THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AT WORK 

"Believing the gospel, I turn from every known sin to 
Christ and look to him for forgiveness and life. I do now 
receive and confess Christ as my Saviom*, and, trusting 
that he will keep me, I commit the direction of my whole 
life to him." 

The class should be asked to read this covenant in con- 
cert, and then thoughtfully to read it over to themselves; 
after which the teacher should call upon each pupil who has 
not previously made a profession of faith in Christ to say 
in the presence of the class whether or not he will now take 
this covenant as his, sign it, seal it with a prayer and in 
this way definitely enter upon the Christian life. 

A Renewed Consecration and a New Confession.— The 
superintendent, the pastor or some one who has been 
chosen as a special leader for the Decision Service should 
then take the school, and in a brief and simple address, 
not exceeding fifteen minutes in length (ten minutes is 
still better), should review the gospel invitations on the 
covenant card. He should be careful not to introduce 
extraneous matter that he may avoid confusing the pupils. 
A simple and natural illustration may often be used effec- 
tively to fasten the truth on the mind, and then the cove- 
nant should be read in concert. The teachers and the Chris- 
tian pupils who have promised God that they will take a 
"forward step" should be asked to declare it by rising. 
The pupils who have taken the covenant of surrender to 
Christ should be asked to stand, and while they stand to 
read the covenant in concert, before the whole school, as 
a further fulfillment of Christ's requirement in Matt. 10 : 
32, "Every one therefore who shall confess me before men, 
him will I also confess before my Father who is in heaven." 

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A DECISION FOR CHRIST 

The teachers should then collect the lower part of each 
card after it has been signed, and the pupils should be asked 
to take the upper part home with them for further medi- 
tation and study. 

No time should be lost after the pupils have been led 
to a decision for Christ. They should at once be enlisted 
in some form of Christian testimony and service; in junior 
or senior Young People's Society; in missionary groups; in 
personal work bands and prayer groups, or in communi- 
cant classes. 

Then, as soon as possible, they should be received into 
full membership in the Church. 



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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




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